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THE 

TEACHER'S GUIDE 



TO 



PALESTINE, 

CONTAINING 

A COMPLETE LIST OF THE NAMES 
OF ALL THE CITIES, ETC., OF PALESTINE, 
MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES, WHOSE SITES ARE 
ACTUALLY KNOWN ; WITH THEIR MOST APPROVED PRONUNCIATIONS 
AND SIGNIFICATIONS ; THEIR HISTORICAL INTERESTS AND 
ALL THE REFERENCES TO THEIR MOST IMPORT- 
ANT SCRIPTURAL ASSOCIATIONS; 



LESSONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS DERIVED 
FROM THEM. 

PREPARED FROM THE BEST AND LATEST AUTHORITIES AND 
FROM PERSONAL TRAVELS AND EXAMINATIONS. 



BY 

HEN 




45 

PHILMEEfrFfiA: 
C. GAE RI GUES & CO. 
No. 608 Arch Street. 
1868. 



$1* 



».'*V.'"V<* , V.«"V.'"V,<'N.' ,, %.* ,, V- 



/\,'V\A/v./V/V\A 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

J. C. GARKIGUES & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania. 






^STOOTT & THOA fS ^ 
Stereotypers, ' 

%ADELP^ 



Jas. B. Rodger s, Pr. 
52 & 54 N. 6th St. 



PREFACE 



It will be necessary, to a ready use of this manual, to 
remember : 1. That no names occur in this list the sites 
of which are not on the map, and all places are desig- 
nated about which anything certainly is known - . 
Those not known are entirely omitted. So that if a name 
does not occur in this list, the reader may take it for 
granted that the place or site is not known or has not 
been discovered at the date of this edition. 

2. All the names on the map in square black 
letters are to be found in that exact spelling in the 
latest and approved editions of the Bible, and are gener- 
ally of size or of importance in proportion to the size of 
the type or of the mark which represents the town. 

3. The shaded outline letters give the names 
of places which were important during the Crusades 
or the early Soman Empire, or in history other 
than Scripture. 

3 



4 PEEFACE. 

4. All the script letters are the present Arabic names, 
which often help to locate the Scriptural places. 

5. Those water-courses marked only with a single 
line or dots, or without either, are universally dry in 
summer, or are simply ravines and valleys where water 
may or may not have existed. Such are called, by the 
natives, " Wad-ys." 

6. Little dots represent ruins, but the student can 
generally tell upon whose authority these ruins are en- 
tered by examining their arrangement ; thus, three dots in 
the shape of V (e. g. the ruins near the outline letters of 
PELL A, 15 miles S. of Sea of Galilee,) are on the au- 
thority of Van de Velde ; those in the shape of the upper 
part of a P [e. g. JABESH GILEAD, 6 miles lower,) 
are on that of the English missionary Porter ; those on 
the square □ (e. g. TEKOA, S. of Jerusalem 8 miles) 
are from Pobinson ; those in other orders of arrangement 
are from several corroborations, and those places without 
any dots are without any ruins of any note. 

7. The student may not only learn the existence of the 
flora and the kind of trees and plants, but the 
amount or quantity growing, by observing the sign + 
or — after the words, thus PALM — i. e. very few Palms, 
OLIVES + i. e. a large number of Olives ; and names with 
no signs indicate a moderate number. Solitary trees 
standing here and there through the map are remarkable 



PKEFACE. 5 

trees of large size, the largest for miles around. Marks 
for Castles which are only half or quarter completed 
indicate a similar amount of wholeness in the buildings 
for which such marks stand. All wells are circular — 
springs have a point or tail, and tanks or reservoirs 
are squares or parallelograms. 

The pronunciation of words is believed to be 
upon critical and proper authority. 

An interrogation mark after a name on the 
map indicates some doubt as to identity of the name 
with that place or town; but an interrogation mark 
before the name indicates uncertainty as to the loca- 
tion of the city, but the mark is put near where the 
author supposes the place may have been with very 
great probability. 

In the list of names in the Guide, the capital letters, 
after the geographical name, represent the tribe; 
thus, ADOBAIM, a-do-ra / -im, strength, J. A city, &c, 
where J. stands for tribe of Judah. When L. stands 
before such a letter it signifies Levitical Qity in the tribe. 
So with all the tribes the initial alone is used, as A — 
Asher ; B — Benjamin ; &c. 

We would advise the student to have a stiff piece of 
card with the scale of miles marked upon it, cojDied 
from near the title, and always on hand, so as to deter- 
mine the distance. Also remember that the points of the 
1* • 



6 PEEFACE. 

compass,— K, S., E., W., N. E., N. N. E., &c.,— should be 
taught and learned that they may be quickly understood, 
as considerable care has been taken to obtain the direc- 
tion in the description of places given in the Guide. 

In conclusion, the author would state that this little 
manual is but an humble stepping-stone to aid beginners 
to attain to more comprehensive works, such as that ad- 
mirable compend, Dr. Coleman's Historical Text-Book 
and Atlas of Biblical Geography, to the author of which 
he has been indebted greatly for suggestions and 
aid in undertaking and completing the large map of 
Palestine. 

No better method of improving and interesting a class 
in College, School, Seminary or in private, can be adopted 
than that which conveys scriptural truths in a regular se- 
ries of instructions, beginning with the first geographical 
name, and continuing through all, with the historical, 
local and spiritual interests and associations of the main 
cities, mountains, waters, &c, of the Bible; and the 
author has thus attempted to aid the parent, teacher and 
preacher in suggesting Lessons and Illustrations de- 
rived from the towns, &c, treated upon in this work. 
Where Lessons or Illustrations are not plain, always see 
Keferences, where the information wanted will be found. 



GUIDE TO PALESTINE. 



ABANA, ab^a-nah, stony. It was a river of Syria 
about 132 miles N. N. E. from Jerusalem to that part 
which flows through the city of Damascus. Its entire 
length is not much more than 50 miles, and it finds its 
source amid the ranges of Anti-Lebanon. It is perhaps, 
the most beautiful river in all that part of the world, 
and it is due to this river, and the river Pharpar, that 
the verdure of the plains of Damascus so far excels in 
beauty and extent that of all other plains of Syria. It 
is said of Mohammed that he refused to enter Damascus 
or remain in the gardens around it, " For," said he, " it is 
given to man to obtain but one Paradise, and he that 
enters this may fail of the one above." The river is 
clear and cool, and draws its largest supply from an 
enormous fountain but ten miles above the city, the 
Fountain of el Fijeh. The only Scripture reference is 
in 2 Kings v. 12, wherein Naaman is represented as 
comparing the Jordan (whose waters were perhaps, at 
the time he crossed it, much discolored) with the Abana 
and Pharpar, rivers almost always exceedingly clear, and 
delightful to the taste. In the times of our Saviour it 

7 



8 ABEL-MEHOLAH. 

was called by the Greeks the Golden River. Lesson : — 1. 
Necessity of obedience without having a reason therefor. 
2. The good following a child's advice. 3. What so 
humble a class as servants may effect. 

ABARIM, ab'-a-rjm, passages, R. On the E. of the 
Dead Sea and the lower part of the Jordan is a range of 
highlands breaking down to the Valley of the Jordan 
and the coast of the Dead Sea through deeply-cut defiles 
and "passages" This high range, or rather high and 
uneven table land, is, as represented on the map, the 
mountains of Abarim. Somewhere on this ridge was 
the higher level of Nebo, with a peak named Pisgah. 
There are several heights to be found affording splendid 
views of the land N. and W. This range is mentioned 
first in Numbers xxvii. 12, and afterward only in chap- 
ter xxxiii. 47, 48, and Deut. xxxii. 49. It is associated 
with the death of Moses. Lesson : — The heinousness of 
sin, and the necessity of its punishment even in so great 
and good a man as Moses. 

ABEL - BETH - MAACHAH, a'-bel-beth-may'-a- 
kah, meadow of the house of Maachah, N. Called also 
Abel of Beth Maachah and simply Abel, and, as is 
probable, the same as Abel-maim in 2 Chronicles xvi. 
4. Now called Abil, and it is situated on a little hill 
at the side of a stream which descends from the Merj 
'Ayun to the Waters of Merom or Huleh Lake, and is 
about 100 miles N. by E. from Jerusalem. Mentioned 
six times : 2 Sam. xx. 14, 15, 18 ; 1 Kings xv. 20 ; 2 
Kings xv. 29. Lesson : — The moral power of a good 
and wise woman. 

ABEL-MEHOLAH, a'-bel-me-ho'-eah, the meadow 



ABILENE. 9 

of the dance, I. About 40 miles N. N. E. of Jerusalem. 
Now a ruin, at the outlet of a little winter stream which 
runs into the Wady Maleh not far W. of the Jordan, 
and upon an undulating plain by the side of the stream. 

This place indicates the direction the Midianites took 
when flying from Gideon across the Jordan, Judges 
vii. 22. It was here that Elisha was born, 1 Kings xix. 
16. It also bounded, on the south one of the districts 
which furnished Solomon with commissary stores, 1 
Kings iv. 12. These references to this place comprise 
all that are found in the Bible. Lesson: — The Great 
and Good may arise from very humble places. 

ABILENE, a-be-le / -ne. A district of country sur- 
rounding the city of Abila, but the exact boundaries are 
unknown. Abila is about 17 miles N. W. of Damascus, 
and gave its name to the district, which was one of the 
most beautiful and fruitful in Syria ; it was situated upon 
the river Abana. Abilene was coveted by many be- 
cause of its fertility. It was governed by one Lysanias, 
a probable ancestor of the one mentioned in Luke iii. 1, 
but he was put to death through Cleopatra, who wished 
to add to her revenues from this region. After her death 
it was rented to Zenodorus, who, it is supposed, allowed 
robbers to prowl over the land for the bribes they paid 
him ; at any rate, because he did not keep it clear from 
robbers, Abilene was taken from him and given to 
Herod the Great. At his death it was divided, and the 
southern part given to Philip, but the northern remained 
as originally, and it then came under the government of 
the Lysanias mentioned in Luke iii. 1. 

The meaning of the name is doubtful. The inhabit- 



10 ABSALOM'S PLACE. 

ants supposed that Abel was murdered here. Hence 
they erected a tomb to Abel, and, as the length of the 
bodies of the ancients, in their imagination, was propor- 
tionate to their fame, Abel's tomb was made thirty 
yards long, which, they say, was the length of his body ! 
This tomb is upon the top of a high hill, near the source 
of the river Abana. It gives us some means of deter- 
mining how far N. the district extended, as the district 
itself is supposed primarily to have derived its name 
from Abel, and, moreover, especially as the traveller 
Pococke found an inscription at this very tomb, in which 
Lysanias is called Tetrarch of Abilene. Of course 
those who believed this tradition must have supposed 
that this region was that of the garden of Eden, show- 
ing how beautiful and fertile Abilene must have been. 

In the Scriptures the name is mentioned only in Luke 
iii. 1. Lesson: — The historical accuracy of the Evan- 
gelist Luke, for Josephus calls it the possession of Philip, 
but it is proven that St. Luke was correct. See Kitto's 
Cyclopaedia and Smith's Dictionary, under Abilene. 

ABSALOM'S PLACE, B. Probably the site was at the 
so-called " Tomb of Absalom," opposite the eastern wall 
of Jerusalem, across the brook Kedron. The present 
tomb, though not so old as the time of Absalom, may, 
nevertheless, cover the " Place" where what is recorded 
in 2 Sam. xviii. 18 occurred. It is 24 feet square, of 
yellow limestone, about 18 feet high, surmounted by a 
short spire. When we examined it through a hole near 
the top, some years ago, it was filled with stones thrown 
in, through contempt of the memory of Absalom. Les- 
son : — " The name of the wicked shall rot." 



ACELDAMA. 11 

ACCHO, ae/-ko, sultry or sandy, A. A city on the sea- 
coast 80 miles N. N. W. from Jerusalem. It was so 
strong a city that it never was completely subdued. 
Although a city of several thousand inhabitants at 
present, it is mentioned but twice in the Scriptures — once 
in Judges i. 31, and again in Acts xxi. 7 ; in the latter 
place under the name Ptolemais. It still retains the 
name Akka. Viewed from the N., at a little distance, 
the city appears planted with trees and presents an at- 
tractive appearance, but within, the streets are narrow 
and dirty. South of the city is a bay, which in extent, 
measured on a line drawn from A echo to Mt. Carmel, is 
about 8 miles, and 3 miles broad, measured from that 
line to the coast. It is a remarkable fact that although 
ACCHO has had no less than seven names, it still re- 
tains the ancient name in a form only slightly altered. 
It was here that the most fearful and bloody contest of 
the Crusades was fought, and it was the last place, of any 
importance, in which the Crusaders held out against the 
Saracens. 

Biblical History and associations only in Judges i. 31, 
or as Ptolemais in Acts xxi. 7. See references. Les- 
son : — The punishment of Asher, and through him of 
Israel, for the lack of faith and earnestness. 

ACELDAMA, a-kei/-da-mah, field of blood, J. About 
500 yards S. S. W. of the Pool of Siloam, on the slope 
of the hills S. of Mt. Sion. It was set apart for the 
burial-place of the dead for many hundreds of years, 
till the beginning of the present century, and many bones 
may still be seen in the bottom of the charnel house, which 
itself is in ruins and in which the Crusaders buried their 



12 ADULLAM. 

pilgrims. Occurs only once, Acts i. 19. Lesson : — " The 
name of the wicked shall rot ;" for another illustration 
of this lesson, see Absalom's Place. 

ACHOR, a'-kor, trouble, valley of, was that valley 
running due W. from Jericho. Scripture Associations : 
Josh. vii. 24, 26 ; xv. 7 ; Isa. lxv.10 ; Hosea ii. 15. It re- 
ceived its name from the trouble brought upon the 
Israelites by the sin of Achan. It is probable that 
Achan's effects were burned at the mouth of the valley, 
as the hills rise either side, so that thousands could wit- 
ness the punishment of the disobedient. Occurs only 
five times. Lesson : — The fearful difficulties into which 
the sin of covetousness may lead us. 

ACHZIB, aeZ-zib, A, A city upon the Mediterra- 
nean, about 9 miles N. of Accho, and now called Zib. 
"It stands upon an ascent close by the sea-side, is 
a small place, with a few palm-trees rising above the 
dwellings." There was another Achzib (Josh. xv. 44 ; 
Mic. i. 14), not known. Scriptural References, Judges i. 
31 ; Joshua xix. 29. Lesson : — Same as Accho. 

ADORAIM, A-do-RAY / -im, strength, J. A city now 
called Dura, 5 miles W. frCm Hebron. It is a large 
village situated on a hill, with fertile fields and olive- 
groves around it. Only one reference, 2 Chron. xi. 9. 
Lesson : — The expense of refusing wise counsel, and the 
troubles of sin visited upon the descendants of those who 
sin. 

ADULLAM, CAVE OF, a-dttl'-lam, ornament or 
glory. See Micah i. 15. — J, A cave 6 miles S. S. E. of 
Bethlehem, in the side of a deep ravine, which must be 
approached on foot. It is an immense cavern, with 



^ENOK 13 

many winding passages branching out from a central 
room. The entrance is through a winding passage, with 
small cavities on either side, about 4 or 5 feet high. It 
is said that all the parts of this cave have never yet 
been explored. David, who was a native of Bethlehem, 
very probably knew this cave from his boyhood and 
found shelter here when keeping his father's flocks ; 
hence he fled here for safety from Achish king of Gath, 
1 Sam. xxii. References : 1 Sam. xxii. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 
13 ; 1 Chron. xi. 15. All other passages wherein the name 
occurs refer to the city Adullam, unknown in location, 
but after which the cave was probably named. Illustra- 
tion : — Of the mutual sympathies of those in trouble— 
and the experiences David obtained. 

ADUMMIM, a-dum / -mim, bloody things, J. An ascent 
between Jericho and Jerusalem, along the valley of 
Achor. This valley, being deep and dark, has always 
been noted for robbery and deeds of blood even to the 
present day. A ruin supposed to be that of an ancient 
fortress was found midway between Jerusalem and Jeri- 
cho, which had been called from time immemorial the 
Castle of Blood, the Arabic form of the name being very 
similar to that of the ancient name. Scripture Refer- 
ences : — Josh. xv. 7 ; xviii. 17. Illustration : — The ap- 
propriateness of our Saviour's parable, Luke x. 30. 

iENON, e'-non, springs or fountains, B. Probably 
about 3 m. N. E. of Jerusalem. There are large foun- 
tains here, and tradition gives the name of Salim to a 
neighboring place. Only in John iii. 23. [John was 
baptizing in the country between the Jordan and 
Jerusalem — Jesus came there too. The word " also " 



14 AIJALON. 

(John iii. 23) proves it. John iv. 1-4 shows that our 
Lord left Judea, and John baptizing at iEnon, and went 
to Samaria and Shechem. Hence it was impossible that 
either Salim or ^Enon could have been near Shechem, as 
some geographies have it, for our Saviour went to Sama- 
ria to avoid interfering with John, who was at iEnon, 
which must have been in Judea.] Lesson : — The 
" Christian" courtesy and prudence of our Saviour. 

AI, a'-i, mass or heap, B. Not more than 8 m. JT. 
by E. of Jerusalem, and not far E. of Bethel. Nothing 
remains of it now except a broken cistern. It is the 
same as Hai in Gen. xii. 8; xiii. 3, between which place 
and Bethel, Abram builded the second altar which was 
erected in Palestine, and while the Canaanites were still 
in the land. For the first altar see " Moreh." Four 
hundred and sixty years after this we read of the Israel- 
ites defeated at Ai, Josh, vii., and then in the 8th chap- 
ter of their victory over Ai and their destruction of the 
city. The name occurs 38 times, but the above references 
lead to the only important ones. Lesson : — 1. Conse- 
quences of presumption. 2. How the sin of one may 
affect the happiness and safety of many. 

AIATH, a-i'-ath, Isa. x. 28, same as Ai. 

AIJA, a-i'-jah, Neh. xi. 31, same as Ai. 

AIJALON or AJALON, aj'-a-lon, a chain, or 
strength, L. D. Now it is called Yalo and is a little village 
on the S. E. of a fine mountain basin. It gave its name to 
the valley which runs immediately adjoining. The first 
mention of it is made when the sun and moon were com- 
manded to stand still, — the sun upon Gibeon and the 
moon in the valley of Aijalon, Josh. x. 12. As you 



AMMONITES. 15 

stand upon the height of the little town of Beth-horon 
and look southward, Aijalon may be seen on the right, 
and Gibeon is upon a little hill almost as far off upon the 
left. The broad valley on the map of Merj Ibn Omar is 
the valley of Aijalon. 

References : — Levitical city, in Dan — Josh. xxi. 24 ; 
1 Chronicles vi. 69. Danites could not conquer the 
Amorites in the neighborhood, Judges i. 35 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 
31 ; 1 Chron. viii. 13 ; was a walled city, 2 Chron. xi. 10 ; 
taken by the Philistines, 2 Chron. xxviii. 18. Another 
Aijalon existed in Zebulun, unknown, Judges xii. 12. 
Occurs 10 times. Tradition says that there was a temple 
to the moon at this place ; if so it must have been an 
awful reproof to the heathen when they saw the moon 
standing still to their own destruction. Lesson : — God's 
supreme control of all things. 

AMALEKITES, a-mai/-e-kites, a people that licks 
up, or uses ill. The descendants of Amalek the grandson 
of Esau, who lived S. of the Moabites and were their 
neighbors on the south. The first mention of them is 
Gen. xiv. 7. Mentioned 15 times. Lesson: — The 
degree of success God grants his people. They were a 
people of great power, and called " the first of nations." 

AMMONITES, am'-mon-ites, son of my people. De- 
scendants of Ammon, the son of Lot, Gen. xix. 38. 
They took possession of a country formerly inhabited by 
giants called Zamzummins, Dent. ii. 20, having driven 
them out. They were separated from the Moabites by 
the river Arnon. Their first battle with the Israelites is 
mentioned in Judges iii. 13. One hundred and forty 
years after we find that the Israelites are serving the gods 



16 AMOEITES. 

of the Ammonites, Judges x. 6. They crossed over 
Jordan into the land of Israel and fought with Benjamin, 
Judah, and Ephraim on the pretense that they had taken 
their land from them, Judges xi. 13. Bat Jephthah 
smote them from Aroer and with a very great slaughter, 
Judges xi. 33. They were again defeated by Saul B. C. 
1095, 1 Sam. xi. 11 ; when the two and a half tribes were 
taken captive, they took possession of the towns belong- 
ing to Gad, Jer. xlix. 1. They opposed the rebuilding 
of Jerusalem, Neh. iv. 3, 7, 8. Their national idol was 
Molech, whose worship was introduced among the 
Israelites by the Ammonitish wives of Solomon, 1 Kings 
xi. 5, 7. See further under Kabbah. Mentioned 19 
times. Illustration : — The mercy God shows to even the 
sinning children of his people. 

AMOEITES, am/-o-rites, bitter. • Descendants of 
Hamor, Gen. xxxiii. 19, called Emmor, Acts vii. 16, 
the fourth son of Canaan, Gen. x. 16. The name is 
sometimes used for the Canaanites in general, for they 
were the most powerful and distinguished of the Canaan - 
itish nations. They are first noticed in Gen. x. 16, and 
xiv. 7. Their country was promised to Abraham, Gen. 
xv. 21. . When the Israelites entered the promised land 
they occupied land on both sides of the Jordan, but their 
land E. of the Jordan was given to Gad, Reuben, and 
the half of the tribe of Manasseh. Their southern 
limit is given Numb. xxi. 13. They were at that time 
under two kings, Og and Sihon. Og was a giant and 
lived in the most rugged part of the country at Ash'-ta- 
roth and Edrei, about 20 m. E. of the sea of Galilee. 
He was defeated by the Israelites at Edrei, but afterward 



APHEK. 17 

he and others gathered an immense army, " as the sand 
upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots," 
Josh. xi. 4. Josepkus, the historian, says that there 
were 300,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 
chariots. Joshua came suddenly upon them at the waters 
of Merom, and Israel smote and thoroughly scattered 
them until they left none remaining, Josh. xi. 7, 8. There 
were quite enough left in other parts to give the Israel- 
ites much trouble for many years, and they were never 
subdued entirely, although they became tributary, 1 Kings 
ix. 20, 21. Alluded to 87 times. Lesson : — The conse- 
quences of the remaining lack of faith among God's 
people. 

ANAB, a'-xab, a grape, J. A little village about 5 
m. W. of S. from Hebron. At this place Joshua de- 
stroyed certain giants called Anakim. Compare Josh. xi. 
21 with lumbers xiii. 33 ; Josh. xv. 50 is the only other 
pla.ce. 

ANATHOTH, an'-a-thoth, answer, L. B. A little 
village on a broad hill 4 m. N. by E. from Jerusalem. 
Formerly, it seems, it was a walled town: from this 
place, now called Anata, stone for building is carried to 
Jerusalem. It was the dwelling-place of prophets. It 
was here that Jeremiah was born, Jer. i. 1 ; xi. 21, 23 ; 
xxix. 27 ; Josh. xxi. 18 (the first mention). Lesson: — 
The presence of very good men does not always prevent 
great wickedness in a city. Named 14 times. 

APHEK, a / -fek, a stream. There were probably 
five distinct cities of this name, but the site of one only 
is known with certainty. That is now called Fik, and is 
a large village just E. of the lake of Tiberias on the 



18 AEAD. 

high table-land. It is referred to only in 1 Kings xx. 
26, 30, and 2 Kings xiii. 17. It was near this place 
that a fearful battle was fought between Ahab and Ben- 
hadad, in which 100,000 Syrians were slain in the field 
and 27,000 in Aphek. Lesson : — God is the God of the 
valleys as well as of the hills — God's jealousy of his 
honor. 

AR, ae, awakening or uncovering. This city was a 
little more than 40 m. S. E. from Jerusalem, and was 
also called Rabbath Moab. It was the capital of Moab 
near the river Arnon ; now it is called Rabba, is situated 
on a low hill commanding a view of the plains, and has 
extensive and handsome ruins, but characterized by 
" waste and silence." It was an important place in the 
times of the early Christian Church, and was then called 
Areopolis. The Israelites passed through Ar, which 
had been given to the children of Lot, and for this rea- 
son they were not to disturb the inhabitants, Deut. ii. 
18, 19. Its desolation was foretold, Isa. xv. 1. Named 
six times. Lesson : — The fulfillment of prophecy. 

ARAD, a'-rad, a wild ass. A city about 14 m. S. 
of Hebron ; it is a barren-looking hill rising above the 
surrounding country called Tell* Arad. Fragments of 
pottery on its top and a ruined reservoir on its S. are the 
only remnants of the ancient town. Here lived the peo- 
ple who drove back the Israelites when they attempted 
to pass up from the desert into Canaan, Numb. xxi. 1 
(wherein King Arad and the king of Arad are the same), 
but they were at last subdued by Joshua, Josh. xii. 14 ; 

* Tell is the Arabic word for " hill." 



ARNON. 19 

Judg. i. 16. Four times. Lesson : — Great troubles flow 
from small sources. 

ARAM, a'-ram, magnificence. This was the name 
of Syria, or all that land north of Palestine beginning 
with the region just E. of the Dead Sea, and including 
the region farther eastward, Numbers xxiii. 7 ; 1 Chron. 
ii. 23, wherein the general country E. of the Dead Sea 
and Jordan is meant. 

ARGOB, ab/-gob, a turf of earth, curse of the well. A 
district lying beyond Jordan 35 m. E. of the Sea of 
Galilee in the half tribe of Manasseh, and included in 
the general country of Bashan. There were 60 cities in 
this region, Deut. iii. 4, 13, 14, and the district is noted 
as being the most rugged and volcanic of all Syria. At 
the present it is known as "the Lejah," but in the times 
of our Saviour as Tbachonitis, and under this name is 
referred to in Luke iii. 1. It is a wonderful region, if 
for no other reason than this, that the cities are deserted, 
although the houses appear in many cases in a most per- 
fect and habitable condition, the stone doors still being 
upon their sockets, so that they can be closed and 
opened. Named only four times. Illustrates the tri- 
umphs of God's people. 

ARIEL, a / -re-el, lion of God. A poetical name 
for Jerusalem, used in Isaiah xxix. 1, 2, 7. The mean- 
ing of which is, that when God forsakes, the lion shall 
be brought low and shall change his roaring into whis- 
pers of weakness, as described in verse 4. 

ARNON, AB/-NOisr, roaring or sounding. A river 
which formed the southern boundary of Palestine or the 
east of the Jordan, and separated between the Moabites 



20 AROER. 

and the tribe of Reuben. The river, emptying into the 
Dead Sea, is nearly dry in the summer, but receives 
tributaries from so far N. as the spurs of Mt. Gilead, and 
then heavy torrents appear to carry large rocks down its 
channel ; hence, perhaps, its name. The remains of a 
Roman road passing near Aroer show where the Israel- 
ites crossed the Arnon, as the channel, in other parts 
almost impassable, is easily crossed here. The valley is 
not so shrubby as are many other valleys, perhaps, be- 
cause of the force of the winter current. There were a 
few tamarisks and oleanders growing some years ago. It 
is now called the Mojib, and its valley is nearly 2 m. wide 
in places 8 or 10 m. E. of the Dead Sea. The most 
interesting Scripture References are, Numbers xxi. 13> 
26; xxii. 36; Deut. iii. 8, 12, 16; Josh. xiii. 15, 16. 
Named 25 times. Lesson : — Nothing gained by presump- 
tion against God's people. 

AROER, ar'-o-er, a heath, or, naked, or, bare. There 
were three cities of this name, the sites of two of which 
are known : 1. Aroer of Moab, mentioned in the last 
paragraph of the section on the Arnon, now called Ar-a-ir 
and situated upon the N. bank of the river, on the edge 
of a precipice overlooking the river. It is highly pro- 
bable that this was only a part of the ancient city, and 
perhaps the fortified part and where the " high places" 
were, Num. xxi. 28 ; the remainder of the city and the 
most important part being below and nearer the channel 
of the river, and therefore in closer proximity to such 
crops as were usually sown or planted in the valley. 
Hence it is called "Aroer by the brink (or " on the bank," 
Josh. xiii. 9.) of the river of Arnon/' Deut. ii. 36, in 



ASHDOD. 21 

contra-distinction to Aroer that is in the midst [or 
valley] of the river, just as we find upper and lower Beth- 
horon, Josh. xiii. 9, 16. When the Israelites arrived 
at Aroer they had only 25 miles to travel before they 
reached the N. end of the Dead Sea, near which they 
crossed into Canaan. Referred to 11 times. Deut. iii. 
12 ; iv. 48 ; Josh. xii. 2 ; Judg. xi. 26, 33 ; 2 Kings x. 33. 
Lesson: — God reminds them of their first victories on 
the border of Canaan. 

2. The second Aroer was in the tribe of Judah, about 
50 m. W. of S. from Jerusalem and 30 m. nearly in the 
same direction from Hebron. Here there are 3 wells 
and many pits for water, and, just W. of these, on a hill- 
side, are ruins and pottery indicating the probable site 
of the ancient Aroer. It was to the inhabitants of this 
city that David sent presents of the spoil of those who 
had robbed him and his men, 1 Sam. xxx. 28. This is 
the only reference. Lesson : — Avoid selfishness and any 
appearance of covetousness. 

The site of the other Aroer, in Gad, is not known, but 
supposed to be at a place called Ayra, 7 m. S. W. of 
Salt in Mt. Gilead, but it is very uncertain. 2 Sam. 
xxiv. 5 ; Josh. xiii. 25. 

ASHDOD, ash'-dod, a wild, open place. A city on a 
grassy hill 2 m. from the Mediterranean coast, 25 m. 
almost due W. of Jerusalem. It was a chief town of the 
Philistines, assigned to Judah, but never permanently in 
their possession. It was the seat of the worship of 
Dagon, and it was here that Dagon fell down before the 
captured ark. It was a town of great importance, but 
now is in ruins of arches and columns. It is the same 



22 ASHER. 

as Azotus, Acts viii. 40. References : — Josh. xi. 22, (first 
notice) ; Josh. xiii. 3 ; 1 Sam. v. 5 ; 1 Sam. vi. 17 ; 2 
Chron. xxvi. 6 ; Neh. xiii. 23 ; Jer. xxv. 20. Referred 
to 21 times. Lesson : — Though the wicked (Anakim) 
escape for the present, God brings them under punish- 
ment at last. 

ASHDOTH-PISGAH> ash'-doth-piz'-gah, the pour- 
ings, or streams of Pisgah. The name of the ravine at 
the base of Mt. Pisgah, which was the general mountain 
upon which Mt. Nebo rose as a peak. See Nebo, Deut. 
iii. 17. 

ASHER, TRIBE OF, ash'-er, blessedness. Asher 
was one of the sons of Jacob and Zilpah, the handmaid 
of Leah. He became the founder of one of the 12 tribes, 
and had his lot in a very fruitful country. But Asher 
had much trouble to get possession of the land assigned 
to him, as it comprised all the land on the coast whereon 
dwelt the powerful u Canaanites," the Phoenicians of Sidon 
and of Tyre (which was builded after Sidon, probably to 
strengthen themselves against the Israelites). The pro- 
bable extent of the tribe is indicated by the yellow 
section on the map, numbered I. 

All the rich plain on the sea-coast near Mt. Carmel 
running northward to the spurs of the Lebanon moun- 
tains and to the river Leontes which cuts through 
the base and turns at a right angle toward the Mediterra- 
nean, formed a part of the district of Asher. It had 
Napthali on the E., Issachar and Zebulon on the S., 
and more of the Phoenician territory than it could con- 
quer on the W., even including Sidon. The writer 
found the deepest soil in all Palestine and the darkest 



ASHKELON. 23 

and richest along the western portion of this district. It 
resembles much of the best prairie-land in the rankness 
of vegetation and depth of soil. Perhaps there is no 
country of equal size where a greater variety of agricul- 
tural, mineral and commercial advantages exists than 
does in this district. The olive-groves and vineyards, 
the richest pastures, and the probable iron and other 
metals and the minerals which appear to show themselves 
in the soil and hills at present, all verify the scriptural 
assertions, Gen. xlix. 20 ; Deut. xxxiii. 24, 25. Its towns 
are named in Josh. xix. 24-31. 

ASHKELOjST, ash'-ke-lon, weight, J. A chief city 
of the Philistines, and the only one which they possessed 
immediately upon the sea-coast of the Mediterranean. 
It was 36 m. S. of W. from Jerusalem, but never fully 
in possession of Judah. It abounded in aromatic plants, 
onions and vines upon the hill lands just E. of this city, 
which rise to about 230 feet. Here Herod the Great 
was born, and hence, although he did not live here, he 
adorned it with fountains, baths and colonnades. The 
inhabitants disliked the Jews so much that at one time 
they slew 2500 who dwelt there. It suffered much 
during the Crusades, having been destroyed and re- 
builded several times during the times of Saladin and 
Richard, but at length was totally destroyed by the Sul- 
tan Bibars, A. D. 1270. Various dates of battles are in- 
dicated on the map. It is now little more than a ruin, 
but is still called Askulan. The name occurs 12 times. 
First mention Judg. i. 18 ; xiv. 19 ; Jer. xxv. 20 ; xlvii. 
5, 7 ; Amos i. 8 ; Zeph. ii. 4, 7 ; Zech. ix. 5. Illustrates 
the exact fulfillment of prophecy. 



24 AZEKAH. 

ASHTAEOTH, ash'-ta-roth, flocks or riches, L M. 
Called also ASHTABOTH-KABNAIM, kar-na'-im, 
horns. The city of Og, King of Bashan, Josh. ix. 10, 
was about 20 m. E. from the sea of Galilee, now called 
Ash'areh. It derived its name from the goddess of the 
Zidonians (1 Kings xi. 33), of whom the moon was the 
symbol ; hence the images of this Ashtoreth were fre- 
quently crowned with the horns of a new moon. Some 
place this city at Mezarib (v. map), but without the best 
reasons. Gen. xiv. 5 ; Deut. i. 4 ; Josh. ix. 10 ; xii. 4 ; 
xiii. 12, 31 ; 1 Chron. vi. 71 ; are all the references to the 
place in the Scriptures. Illustrates: — The desolation 
which follows idolatry. The loneliness and desertion of 
the surrounding country is extreme, where once most cele- 
brated and frequented. 

ATA BOTH, at'-a-roth, crowns, E. A city on the 
borders of Ephraim 12 m. a little W. of N. from Jeru- 
salem. It is referred to but twice, Josh. xvi. 5 ; xviii. 13, 
and then the addition of Ad-dar is made to the name. 
It is now a large village on the summit of a hill. It was 
named only to mark the border of Ephraim. The sites 
of the other cities of the same name are not known. 

AVEN, a'-ven, iniquity. The plain so called was 
between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, where stood the 
magnificent temple dedicated to the sun, now called 
"Baalbec" (baK-bec), previously "Heliopolis {city of the 
sun). The plain was a valley, and is more than 2000 
feet above the level of the Mediterranean, called on the 
map Coele-Syria (Hollow Syria). It extends many miles 
northward. Amos i. 5, the only reference. 

AZEKAH, az-e'-kah, strength of walls, J. A city 15 



BAALATH. 25 

m. W. S. W. from Jerusalem. It is only a ruin now, 
but it was adjoining a fine broad valley, and perhaps on 
the side of the hill now called Tell Zakariya. It was by 
this place that the discomfited Philistines fled when de- 
feated by Joshua (x. 10) ; Josh. xv. 35 shows that it 
belonged to Judah in the valley or lowlands. Near this 
place were gathered the hosts of the Philistines to battle- 
against Saul and his army, and they had the valley be- 
tween them. In this valley and at this time David 
met Goliath of Gath, 1 Sam. xvii. Kehoboam built (i. e. 
rebuilt and strengthened) this city, 2 Chron. xi. 9, and it 
had other villages which were tributary to it, Neh. xi. 30,. 
hence called "villages of Azekah." It remained a 
defenced city for several hundred years, and was of so 
much importance that the king of Babylon fought against 
it and took it, Jer. xxxiv. 7. Referred to only seven 
times. It is a symbol of the great power for evil in com- 
paratively obscure places. 

AZOTUS, see Ashdod. Acts viii. 40. 

AZZAH, az / -zah, strong, see Gaza. Deut. ii. 23. 

BAAL AH, ba'-a-lah, her idol. Same as Kirjath- 
jearim (which see). Only places of reference are Josh. 
xv. 9 ; 1 Chron. xiii. 6. The ark of God remained here 
some time, even under its unchanged name. So the 
Spirit of God is found sometimes where the appearance 
to us may seem to forbid. 

BAALATH, ba'-al-ath, 'proud lord. A city about 

22 m. N. W. of Jerusalem, on the N. boundary of Dan 7 

Josh. xix. 44, perhaps the same afterward rebuilt by 

Solomon, 1 Kings ix. 18. But there is some doubt as to 

3 



26 BAHUKIM. 

the identity of the place, hence in the map the interro 
gation mark is placed before the name. 

BAAL-GAD, ba'-al-gad, the Baal of Gad. Proba- 
bly the place called Baalbek or Heliopolis, in the valley 
of Coele-Syria, near the western base of Anti-Lebanon, 
about 40 m. N. of Mt. Hermon. Gad signifies a troop, 
and was the name of an idol, and has such a meaning in 
Isa. lxv. 11 ; "a table for that troop" means the same as 
a table for that Gad. The syllable bek in Baalbek means 
the same, Baal's Gad. The place may be the same, there- 
fore. It was more than 160 m. E. of N. from Jerusalem. 
Joshua conquered the kings and the land to this place, 
Josh. xi. 17 ; xii. 7 ; the only remaining reference is Josh, 
xiii. 5. It marks the utmost northern limit of the con- 
quest under Joshua. 

BAALE, ba'-ai^-e, my lord, same as Kirjath-jearim 
(which see), 2 Sam. vi. 2. 

BAAL-MEON, ba'-al-me'-on, the master of the house, 
R. A city about 35 m. (a little to the) S. of E. from 
Jerusalem, now called Ma-in, but in ruins. This is the 
same as Beth-meon, Jer. xlviii. 23, and Beth-baal- 
meon in Josh. xiii. 17. First mentioned in Numb, 
xxxii. 38. 

BAHUKIM, ba-hu^bim, choice. A village about 3 J 
m. 1ST. E. from Jerusalem, near the present hamlet 
called Sid, on the side of a long valley or pass to the 
Jordan. This is probably the place where Shimei cursed 
and threw stones at David, 2 Sam. xvi. 5 ; see also 2 Sam. 
xvii. 18, also 2 Sam. iii. 16 ; xix. 16 ; and 1 Kings ii. 8, 
being all the places in which the village is referred to in 
Scripture. Associated with the meanness of some spirits 



BEERSHEBA. 27 

in insulting the unfortunate, and the punishment which 
such sometimes incur. 

BASH AN, ba'-shan, /a£ or fertile. This country was 
the land of Og when the Israelites entered Canaan, and 
was then, and has always been, among the finest pasture- 
lands of Syria. Hence its cattle are the finest now, as 
they were in the time of the prophet Ezekiel (xxxix. 
18); and still earlier, in the time of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 
14, we read of the " rams of the breed of Bashan" The 
oaks are mentioned in connection with the cedars of 
Lebanon, Isa. ii. 13 ; Zech. xi. 2 ; Ezek. xxvii. 6 ; Amos 
iv. 1. The first notice of this country is in Gen. xiv. 5, 
but under another name. Bashan occurs first in Numb. 
xxi. 33. The country is indicated on the map E. of 
Jordan and N. of Mt. Gilead, and bounded W. by Sea 
of Galilee. Lesson : — The strength of Bashan illustrates 
the greatness of those victories God grants his people 
when faithful and obedient. 

BEER, be'-er, a well, B. A place called Beeroth five 
times, and Beer only once, in Judg. ix. 21 ; hence see 
Beeroth. 

BEEROTH, be'-e-roth, B. A little town 6 miles N. 
of Jerusalem, Josh. ix. 1-18 ; 2 Sam. iv. 2 ; Ezra ii. 25 ; 
Neh. vii. 29. Lesson: — Be faithful in your promises, 
although to an enemy. 

BEERSHEBA, be'-er-she'-bah, well of the oath, S. 
A place 40 m. S. W. from Jerusalem. There are here 
five ancient wells, three ruined, two containing water 
sweet and pure. The ruins of a village are on the N. 
side of the little valley, called by the Arabs Bir es Se'-ba, 
indicate the position of the ancient village. The great 



28 BETHANY. 

desert commences here. It is first mentioned in Scripture 
Gen. xxi. 14, 31, 32, 33. It is frequently named as the 
southern extremity of the land in the proverb, " from Dan 
to Beersheba," Judg. xx. 1 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 11 ; 1 Chron. 
xxi. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxx. 5. Here Samuel established his 
sons as judges, 1 Sam. viii. 2. Here Elijah stayed be- 
fore he left for the desert, 1 Kings xix. 3, and here was 
the chief seat of idolatry in the times of Uzziah, Amos 
v. 5. Lesson :— - As Beersheba separates between the 
land of promise and the desert, so God's "oath and 
promise," Heb. vi. 17, only holds this world back from 
utter desolation. 

BEE ACHAH, be-ra'-kah, blessing, J. A valley about 
8 m. S. S. W. of Jerusalem, near an Arab town of that 
name. It was so called because here Jehoshaphat and 
his people assembled to bless the Lord for iheir deliver- 
ance from the combined attack of the Edomites, the Am- 
monites and Moabites, 2 Chron. xx. 26. Lesson: — 
It suggests the benefit of seasonable mementos of our 
blessings. 

•BETHANY, beth'-a-ny, house of dates, B, A small 
village two miles E. S. E. of Jerusalem, on the eastern 
side of the Mount of Olives. At present a miserable 
village, but is remarkable for its Arabic name, El Asari- 
yeh, which means the place of Lazarus. It is not men- 
tioned in the Old Testament. In the life of our Lord it 
was known as the home of Lazarus, of Mary and Martha 
with whom Jesus stayed at times, John xii. i ; Mark xi. 
12 ; Mat. xxi. 17, and here he raised Lazarus from the 
dead, John xi. The tomb is still shown. Here also, 
while at supper, the precious box of ointment was broken 



BETHEL. 29 

over his head ; and nigh unto Bethany he blessed his 
disciples and was " carried up into heaven," Luke xxiv. 
51. See also Matt. xxvi. 6 ; Mark xiv. 3. Lesson : — 
Psalm cxii. 6 ; Prov. x. 7, first clause. 

BETH-AKBEL, beth-ab/-bel, the house of ambush, 
Z, Buins near the W. of Lake Tiberias. Famous for 
its caverns. Mentioned only once, Hosea x. 14. These 
caverns were made use of in war at different times, and 
sometimes afforded protection to bands of robbers. It is 
thought that some could accommodate 600 men. This 
is the Arbela of Josephus and Irbid of the Arabs. See 
map. Lesson : — Her villany was the cause and source 
of her own destruction. 

BETH - BAAL - MEON, beth-ba'-ae-me'-on, idol 
of the dwelling-place, R. Buins about 12 m. E. of N. ex- 
tremity of Dead Sea. It is only mentioned in Josh. xiii. 
17, but in Numbers xxxii. 38, Baal-meon is the same 
place, with the Beth omitted, and in xxii. 41, Baal is 
probably still the same place. Evidence of the complete- 
ness of the early conquests. 

BETH-DAGON, beth-da'-gon, house of Dagon (the 
fish-god), J. Most likely Beit-Dejan, between Joppa and 
Lydda, 24 m. N. W. of Jerusalem. It is merely men- 
tioned in Scripture, Joshua xv. 41. 

BETHEL, beth/-el, the house of God, B, The ruins 
of this interesting spot are found about 8 m. N. of Jeru- 
salem. It is inhabited by a few miserable families, 
although it was once of great importance, as the ruins cover 
about four acres. From this point Abraham and Lot 
looked forth over the land when they were about to sep- 
arate, Gen. xiii. 3-10, Here Jacob dreamed, and erected 
3 * 



30 BETH-HACCEEEM. 

his altar, Gen. xxviii. 10-19, as Abraham had done be- 
fore him, Gen. xii. 8. In course of time the spot was 
desecrated by being made a chief seat of idol worship, 
1 Kings xii. 29. Not mentioned in the New Testament. 
See also Gen. xxxi. 13 ; xxxv. ; Josh, vii., viii., xii., 
xvi., xviii ; Judges i., iv., xx., xxi., w T here it is translated 
" house of God," 1 Sam. vii., xiii., xxx. ; 1 Kings xii., 
xiii. ; 2 Kings ii., x., xvii., xxiii. ; 1 Chron. vii. ; 2 
Chron. xiii.; Ezra ii. 28; Neh. vii. 32; xi. 31; Jer. 
xlviii. 13 ; Hosea x., xii. ; Amos iii., iv., v., vii. Occurs 
66 times, and 4 times translated. Lesson : — No name or 
memories safe from desecration by sinful men. 

BETH-EMEK, beth-e'-mek, house of broad valley or 
plain, A, Now village of Amka, 7 m. N. E. of Accho, at 
the foot of the hills and on the borders of Asher, Joshua 
xix. 27 ; only mentioned as directing the limits of A. 

BETH-GAM UL, beth-ga'-mul, the house of the 
camel. Buins of this town exist in a state of fine preser- 
vation about 45 m. E. S. E. of the Sea of Galilee. Men- 
tioned but once, Jer. xlviii. 23. It is about 45 m. S. E. 
of the Sea of Galilee, and though it has been deserted 
for centuries, the massive houses look as though the in- 
habitants had just left them. Illustration : — Prophecy. 

BETH-HACCEEEM, beth-hak'-se-rem, "house 
of vineyards" J. Probably the present Jebel el Eureidis 
(hill of Paradise), about 6 miles S. by E. of Jerusalem. 
Of no importance now, but at one time overlooking the 
fertile valleys south of Jerusalem, hence the allusion to 
the setting up a fire, &c, Jer. vi. 1. It was in part 
rebuilt by Herod, and is mentioned but twice in Scrip- 
ture, Neh. iii. 14; Jer. vi. 1. 



BETH-HOKOK 31 

BETH-HOGLAH, beth-hog'-lah, partridge house, 
J. On the borders of Benjamin and Judah. It was men- 
tioned as a means of determination of the boundary line. 
At present it consists of only a few ruins about a small 
spring 3 m. 1ST. of the Dead Sea and 3 m. W* of the Jor- 
dan. Josh. xv. 6 ; xviii. 19-21, the only references. 

BETH-HOBON, beth-ho'-bon, the house of the hollow. 
There are two towns of this name, the one on the hill 
and the other at the base ; the one called Beth-horon u the 
upper" and the other "the lower" They were both 
builded by a female named Sherah, 1 Chron. vii. 24, and 
in after times rebuilded and strongly fortified by Solomon 
(2 Chron. viii. 5), because they commanded the great 
pass up from the land of the Philistines to Jerusalem. 
It was here that Joshua stood, near the site of upper 
Beth-horon, when the great victory over the Amorites 
was gained, Josh. x. 11, and, as he looked southward, 
Gibeon would be on the left and the " valley of Aijalon" 
on the right (see the map), the former only 3 m. off, and 
the latter running along at about the same distance to- 
ward the right and onward toward the coast. As the 
moon was over the valley, and W. of the sun, the battle 
must have taken place early in the morning, when the 
Amorites were defeated, and attempting to escape to the 
plain by this pass, they were cut off by Joshua. This 
occurred about 1450 years B. C. 

In after years the general of Antiochus marched 
against Jerusalem, but the Jewish general having occu- 
pied this pass, defeated the Bomans and pursued them 
down the pass to the plain. Two centuries later, the 
Boman proconsul, when approaching Jerusalem by this 



32 BETHLEHEM. 

same pass, suffered a terrible defeat, thus making this 
valley of Beth-horon the scene of one of the earliest and 
one of the latest victories of the Jewish arms. 

The Crusaders often made their way up through this 
pass ; but the present villages are small, containing some 
remains of ancient fortifications. Name occurs fourteen 
times. Scripture Reference, Josh. xvi. 3, 5 ; xviii. 13, 14 ; 
xxi. 22 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 18 ; 1 Kings ix. 17 ; 1 Chron. vi. 
68 ; vii. 24 ; 2 Chron. viii. 5, 5 ; xxv. 13. Lesson : — God's 
sovereignty over nature. 

BETHLEHEM, beth'-le-hem, house of bread, J. A 
flourishing little village on a ridge about 5 m. S. of Jeru- 
salem. Noted for the Latin convent buildings, wherein 
is the reputed cave and place of our Saviour's birth. 
The first notice occurs in Gen. xxxv. 19, where the place 
is said to be in the way to Ephrath, the meaning of 
which word, " fruitful," is illustrated by the richness and 
fertility of the surrounding fields. Bethlehem is inter- 
esting also in connection with the story of Ruth. " It 
was in the corn-fields below the village that Kuth gleaned," 
Ruth ii. 3. In the New Testament history, Bethlehem 
early attracts our notice as the birth-place of Jesus. 

Roman superstition now points out a spot where Christ 
was born — a cave surmounted by a large convent which 
was erected in the fourth century by the Empress Helena. 
This building is the oldest Christian monument in the 
world. 

The modern inhabitants of the village are all Latin 
Catholic Christians, and many of them make a living by 
carving crucifixes, beads, &c, to be sold to travellers. 
Gen. xlviii. 7, alludes to the tomb of Rachel (called 



BETH-NIMRAH. 33 

Rachel's sepulchre in 1 Sam. x. 2) as the place of burial. 
This tomb, represented on the map a little W. of N. 
from the city, is a small white square building, with a 
room large enough to accommodate some 15 or 20 per- 
sons. The crooked line to the E. of the tomb is the 
ancient aqueduct of Solomon, running, from Solomon's 
Pools on the S., to the city of Jerusalem. On the plain 
E. of Bethlehem the shepherds kept their flocks, and up 
this hill they climbed to see the infant Saviour. Near 
the city gate is the spring referred to in 2 Sam. xxiii. 15 ; 
1 Chron. xi. 17, 18. Around Bethlehem David was 
reared and here he watched his father's flocks. The 
country is fruitful and beautiful for its pasture and its 
fields of grain, and reminds one of the name the sur- 
rounding district once claimed, namely, Ephrath, or 
"fruitful." See Judg., xii., xvii., xix; Ruth i., ii., iv. • 
1 Sam. xvi., xvii., xx ; 2 Sam. ii., xxiii ; 1 Chron. ii., 
iv., xi; 2 Chron. xi ; Ezra ii. 21 ; Neh. vii. 26; Jer. xli. 
17 ; Micah v. 2 ; Matt, ii ; Luke ii ; John vii. Occurs 
48 times. Lesson : — Small places and things made 
great by the presence of God. 

BETHLEHEM, beth / -le-hem, Z, A small, wretched 
village about 7 m. W. by N. of Nazareth. Josh. xix. 15, 
is the only reference to this Bethlehem. 

BETH-MEON. Same as BETH-BAAL-MEON, 
which see. 

BETH-NIMRAH, beth-nim'-rah, "the house of 
pure ivater" G. A town on the east side of the valley of 
the Jordan, E. of Jericho. A spring of water gives 
name to the place, Numb, xxxii. 36, and Josh. xiii. 27. 
See more fully at the word Nimrah. 



34 BETH-SHEAK 

BETHPELiGE, betb/-fa-je, the house of early figs, J. 
Probably on the rocky S. W. spur of Olivet, a few hun- 
dred yards S. of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. 
Only occurs in Matt. xxi. 1 ; Mark xi. 1 ; Luke xix. 29. 
See the map of Jerusalem and its surroundings on the 
S. E. corner of the map. Associated only with the get- 
ting of the colt for our Saviour's triumphal entry into 
Jerusalem. 

BETH-SAID A, beth-sa'-e-dah, "house of fishing," M. 
A small village 2 miles 1ST. of the upper end of the Sea of 
Galilee and just E. of the Jordan. There were two 
towns of the same name, this being one, and another on 
the N. W. shore " near Capernaum." The name is not 
mentioned in the Old Testament. But in the life of 
Christ we have frequent mention of these towns. There 
are four occasions upon which this name is used. 1. As 
indicating the birth-place of Philip, Andrew and Peter, 
John i. 40 ; xii. 21. 2. As associated with the miracu- 
lous appearance of Christ upon the Sea of Galilee, Mark 
vi. 45, and Luke ix. 10. 3. The healing of the blind 
man, Mark viii. 22. 4. When the woes were pro- 
nounced against it in connection with Chorazin, Matt. xi. 
21 ; Luke x. 13. The 1st alludes to the western town 
of Galilee, certainly. The 3d most probably to the 
eastern town, and the 2d and 4th probably to the 
western. The site of the latter was near the place 
marked upon the map on the N. W. shore, but the ex- 
act site is unknown, as is true also of Capernaum. 
Lesson : — Great privileges make great responsibilities. 

BETH-SHEAN and BETH-SHAN, beth-she'-an 
or beth'-shan, u house of rest" M. A wretched vil- 



BETH-ZUR. 35 

lage about 14 m. a little W. of S. of the S. end 
of the Sea of Galilee and five miles W. of the river 
Jordan. The extensive ruins show marks of former 
greatness. Although assigned to Manasseh, Josh. xvii. 
11, 16, it was not conquered by that tribe, Judges i. 27. 
The body of Saul was fastened to the wall of Beth-Shan 
by the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxxi. 10, 12. This city re- 
ceived the name of Scythopolis because taken possession 
of by a band of Scythians in the time of Josiah. In the 
Middle Ages, although desolate, it still was called the 
metropolis, and during the Crusades was a bishopric. 
Occurs 9 times. See remaining references in 2 Sam. xxi. 
12 ; 1 Kings iv. 12, 12 ; 1 Chron. vii. 29. Associated 
with the sad end of Saul, who forsook God before God 
forsook him. 

BETH-SHEMESH, beth-she'-imesh, house of the sun, 
L. J. Ruins of this city are found 12 m. W. (a little S.) 
of Jerusalem. It is chiefly interesting as the spot to 
which the Philistines brought the ark from Ekron, 1 
Sam. vi. 9-19. And as the place where a battle took 
place between the kings of Judah and Israel, 2 Kings 
xiv. 11, and 2 Chron. xxv. 21. Lesson : — The sad re- 
sults of self-complacency after success. 

BETH-TAPPUAH, beth-tap'pu-ah, u house of aj> 
pies," J. Small village about 4 m. W. N. W. of Hebron. 
But once mentioned, Josh. xv. 53. See Tappuah. Only 
mentioned in a list of names of Judah's towns. 

BETH-ZUR, beth / ztjr, house of a rock, J. Ruins of 
a fortress and a fountain, about 5 m. N. of Hebron, 
mark the place of this stronghold. It was fortified in 
order to defend the approach to Jerusalem in this direc- 



36 CAPERNAUM. 

tion. Josh. xv. 58; 1 Chron. ii. 45; 2 Chron. xi. 7; 
Neh. iii. 16, comprise all references. 

BOZRAH, boz'-rah, " a fortification," Moab. The 
same as Bezer in the wilderness. Jer. xlviii. 24, and 
Micah ii. 12, are the only references. It was one of the 
most splendid cities E. of the Jordan, and had walls four 
miles in circuit. Within are a profusion of splendid 
ruins. An old castle still defies the wear of ages, and a 
few miserable Arabs make it their home. Lesson: — 
Fulfillment of prophecy. 

CANA, ka'-nah, nest, cave, I. Ruins of this village, 
now uninhabited, are found about 70 m. N. of Jerusalem, 
12 m. W. of Sea of Galilee, and about 8 miles N. of Na- 
zareth, John ii. 1-11 ; iv. 46 ; xxi. 2. Here our Saviour's 
first miracle was performed. It was always an obscure 
village, though pleasantly situated on the slope of a 
hill looking over the rich plain of El Buttauf (see map). 
Illustrates the power of Christ to save in the distance, 
and also the modest beginning of our Saviour's great 
works. 

CANAAN, ka / -nan, a merchant or trader. The 
ancient name, before the advent of the Israelites, of 
Palestine W. of the Jordan, that part E. having been 
known as Gilead. It included all the country from Phil- 
istia to Phoenicia, including both these sections. Occurs 
first Gen. xi. 31, 81 times in all, exclusive of Hosea xii. 
7, where the name is translated. 

CAPERNAUM, ka-per'-na-um, field of repentance. 
This city is most probably to be looked for on the N. W. 
shore of the Sea of Galilee. Extensive ruins have been 



CAPERNAUM. 37 

lately found in the neighborhood of a fine fountain in a 
small plain near the lake shore. 

Important advantages enjoyed by Capernaum. 

Matt. iv. 13. Christ dwelt here, having left Nazareth. 
Capernaum was "his own city/ 7 Matt, 
ix. 1. 

" iv. 17. Christ began to preach here. 

" ix. 10-18. Christ afterward preached and taught 
here frequently. Also Mark ix. 33- 
50, and perhaps as in Matt. xv. 1-20, 
and John vi. 22-71. 

" viii. 5. Servant healed of palsy here, Luke vii. 2. 

" viii. 14. Peter's wife's mother healed, Luke iv. 39. 

" viii. 16. Many healed and dispossessed of devils. 
Luke iv, 40. 

" ix. 2. The sick of the palsy lying on a bed. 

" ix. 9. Calls Matthew to follow him from this 
place, opening new sympathies between 
himself and the friends of Matthew. 

" ix. 20. Heals the woman with the issue of blood 
in the streets of Capernaum. 

" xvii. 24. The miracle of the tribute-money per- 
formed here, or on the shore imme- 
diately in the neighborhood. 
Mark i. 21. He teaches in the synagogue with author- 
ity, they themselves being witnesses. 
i. 25. He casts out the unclean spirit, under 
very peculiar circumstances, and de- 
clarations on the part of the unclean 
spirit, Luke iv. 34. 



38 CAEMEL. 

Luke iv. 32. He teaches with a special power which 
astonishes all. 
" iv. 23. The works in Capernaum were proverbial 

even in Nazareth. 
" iv. 41. Many devils openly proclaim him as they 

submit. 
" viii. 41. Jairus's daughter raised to life here, Mark 
v. 22; Matt. ix. 18. 
John ii. 12. His mother, brethren and disciples, all for 
a time, stayed in this city. They had 
fine opportunities to learn of him 
through them. 
" iv. 46. The nobleman's son healed here while 

Jesus was at Cana. 
It was after all, and in view of all, these advantages 
that our Saviour pronounced the woes recorded in Matt, 
xi. 23 and Luke x. 15. 

Capernaum, though mentioned 16 times in Scriptures, 
has disappeared so thoroughly that not even history or 
tradition can help in locating it, although it was probably 
on the shore, near where the name indicates the ancient 
site, but even this much is disputed. Lesson : — Splendid 
advantages may be followed by complete destruction. 

CARMEL, kaeAmel, a garden, J. "A city situated 
on a mountain," 6 m. S. of Hebron. Here are found ex- 
tensive ruins, remains of massive walls and towers. In 
the centre is an extensive reservoir supplied by a foun- 
tain. At one time it was a Eoman garrison. Remains 
of Christian churches are found, showing that, formerly, 
it had a large Christian population. Mentioned in the 
Old Testament as the spot where churlish Nabal lived, 



CESAKEA. 39 

(1 Sam. xxv. 4-44,) ; Josh. xv. 55 ; 1 Sam. xv. 12 ; 
occurs only in the above three chapters. Lesson : — 
Same as in Abel-beth-Maachah ; also, the covetous bring 
a snare to themselves ; and illustrates Pro v. xi. 24. 

CARMEL, MT., kar'-mel, a garden. This moun- 
tain runs out into the Mediterranean Sea, forming the 
only large promontory on the coast of Palestine. On the 
long and gradually descending S. W. side, springs run to 
the coast in a nearly parallel direction, justifying in part 
the name "fruitful field" or "garden." Mount Carmei 
was the scene of Elijah's sacrifice and prayers of faith, 

1 Kings xviii. 19-30. It was also the retreat of Elisha, 

2 Kings ii. 25, and is frequently mentioned by the other 
prophets, Isaiah xxxiii. 9 ; xxxv. 2 ; xxxvii. 24 ; Jer. 
xlvi. 18 ; 1. 19 ; Amos i. 2 ; Micah vii. 14 ; Nahum i. 4. 
Elijah dwelt there, 2 Kings iv. 25. Its plains, heights 
and direction are sufficiently represented on the map. 
Referred to 20 times by name. Lesson: — The moral 
power of a true man of God. 

CEDRON, se'-dron or kid'-ron, B. A brook or 
winter torrent in a deep valley between Jerusalem and 
Mount Olivet, John xviii. 1. See more fully Kidron. 

CESAREA, ses-a-re'-a, "a bush of hair," E. A 
great and beautiful city in the time of the Romans on 
the coast of the Mediterranean, 30 m. a little E. of N. 
from Joppa. It is now a dreary, desolate ruin. It was 
built by Herod the Great, B. C. 22. Several interesting 
Scripture facts are related of this place. The conversion 
of Cornelius (Acts x. 1, 24); the residence of Philip the 
Evangelist, (Acts xxi. 8); Paul before Felix and Festus 
and King Agrippa (Acts xxv. 1). Name occurs 15 times. 



40 CHESALON. 

Associated with the severe trials of the Apostle Paul. 
Lesson : — No one capable of being saved is " common or 
unclean." 

CESAREA PHILIPPI, ses-a-re'-a fi-lip'-pi. A 
town 25 m. N. of the Sea of Galilee. It is now a wretched 
village with but few inhabitants, who have huts among 
the ruins. It occupied one of the most pleasing and 
romantic spots in Palestine. Near it is a large cavern 
from which issue fountains, which form the head waters 
of the Jordan. It is supposed that the transfiguration 
occurred on one of the mountains not far off. Matt. xvi. 
13 ; Mark viii. 27, are the only references. Lesson : — 
The blessedness of a clear and frank confession that 
Christ is the Son of the living God. 

CHANAAN, ka'-nan, same as Canaan, which see ; 
Acts vii. 11, xiii. 19. 

CHEPHIEAH, KE-Fi'-RAH,"a village;' B. Ruins 
of this village are found about 10 m. N. W. by W. of 
Jerusalem. Josh. ix. 17 ; xviii. 26 ; Ezra ii. 25 ; Neh. vii. 
29, are the only references. Lesson : — Promises made in 
good faith must not be broken. 

CHERITH, ke'-bith, calling, J. The brook by 
which Elijah lay hidden. 1 Kings xvii. 3, 5, the only re- 
ferences. Supposed to be the same as the^ Valley of 
Achor, and running directly east to Jericho, and called 
now by the Arabs the Wady Kelt. It is a deep, narrow 
ravine, well adapted as a place of refuge, whose deep and 
shady sides are perforated with caverns in many places. 
Lesson : — Though God protects us, we are not exempted 
from care to hide ourselves from evil. 

CHESALON, kes'-a-lon, "the flank," J, A boun- 



DAMASCUS. 41 

dary village between Judah and Benjamin, about 7 m 
due west from Jerusalem. Mentioned but once, Josh. 
xv. 10. 

CHESULLOTH, ke-stjiZ-loth, Z. A little village 
3 miles W. of Mount Tabor, 60 m. N. of Jerusalem. Only 
referred to once in Josh. xix. 18,, for the sake of deter- 
mining the boundary line between the tribes of Zebulon and 
Issachar. Chisloth Tabor, 12th verse, is the same place. 

CHEZIB, ke'-zib, J. See Achzib, Gen. xxxviii. 5. 

CHINNERETH, kin'-ne-reth. Sea of Galilee, 
called also Lake of Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret ; also a 
city of same name. See Tiberias for full description. 
First mention, Numb, xxxiv. 11. Josh. xii. 3 ; xiii. 27 ; 
1 Kings xv. 20, are all the references. Chinneroth and 
Cinneroth are the same. 

CHORAZIIST, ko-ray'-zin, the secret, N. A town 
supposed to have stood near Bethsaida, on the northern 
coast of the Sea of Galilee. Only twice mentioned in 
Matt. xi. 21 and Luke x. 13. As in the case of Caper- 
naum and Bethsaida, woes were denounced against Cho- 
razin, and to-day even its position is a subject of doubt. 
Lesson : — Same as in Capernaum. 

DABERATH, dab'-e-rath, a thing, LI. A small 
village on W. base of Mt. Tabor, only mentioned as a 
boundary Levitical city, Josh. xix. 12 ; xxi. 28. 

DALE, KING'S. See position on the map S. E. of 
the large map, S. of the walls in the Valley of Kidron, 
Gen. xiv. 17 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 18, the only references. 

DAMASCUS, da-ma s'-kus. A large city about 60 
m. N. E. of the Sea of Galilee. Damascus occupies the 
4 * 



42 DAK 

most beautiful spot in Asia Minor, and is a town of im- 
portance to-day. It is a very old city, for we find the 
first mention of it in Genesis xiv. 15. It was visited by 
the prophet Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 15. This beautiful city 
is most familiar to us in connection with the conversion 
and labors of St. Paul, Acts ix. 2 ; xxii. 5 ; xxvi. 
12-20; 2 Cor. xi. 32; Gal. i. 17, and the place is marked 
on the map where, according to tradition, the apostle 
saw the vision when on his way of persecution. For the 
surrounding fruit trees, &c, see the map. Here Benha- 
dad dwelt, 1 Kings xv. 18; here Naaman lived, 2 Kings 
v. 12; here Elisha had a remarkable interview with 
Hazael, 2 Kings viii. 7 ; it was taken by the king of 
Assyria, who carried off the people, 2 Kings xvi. 9 ; it 
was the "head city of Syria," Isa. vii. 8 ; a rich city, Isa. 
viii. 4. Named 61 times. Associated with the moral 
courage and faithfulness of Elisha ; the toiling travels of 
Elijah from Horeb to Damascus, about 350 miles; the 
power of the cross of Christ in the conversion of the 
Apostle Paul, and the unchangeable hatred to Christianity 
exhibited in the close pursuit of the apostle and the dif- 
ficulty of his escape. There seems to be some mysterious 
association between the prophecies concerning the Jews 
and those concerning Damascus. The latter are still in a 
measure unfulfilled. 

DAN, dan 7 , judgment. A city in the N. of Pales- 
tine, 25 m. N. of Sea of Galilee, often spoken of meta- 
phorically as the extremity of the land, in the proverb 
"from Dan to Beersheba." It is frequently mentioned 
under the name of Laish, which was its earliest name. 
Scarce a vestige of the town remains, although its posi- 



DOE. 43 

tion has been determined at Tell el Kady (see map). 
Dan is first mentioned, Gen. xiv. 14 ; other references are 
Deut. xxxiv. 1 ; Joshua xix. 47 ; Judg. xviii. 29 ; xx. 1 ; 

1 Sam. iii. 20 ; 2 Sam. iii. 10 ; xvii. 11 ; xxiv. 2, 15. See 
Lakh. Named 23 times. The tribe of Dan had, beside 
the section or district sufficiently described on the map, 
all the country around this city (see map). It illustrates 
the energy of Abraham when striving to redeem Lot ; 
the vision of Moses at his death. The lesson taught is, that 
an unwilling heart makes unwilling feet ; the people soon 
found it too far to Jerusalem when they had an idol at 
Dan, 1 Kings xii. 29. 

DECAPOLIS, de-cap'-o-lis, " the ten cities." Origin- 
ally this term, occurring in only three places, Matt. iv. 25; 
Mark v. 20 ; vii. 31, was applied to ten cities stretching 
from, and including, Damascus on the N. and Scythopolis 
(Beth-shan) on the S. But it afterward included the sur- 
rounding district, especially in the passage Mark vii.31. 

DIBON, di / -bon, "understanding," Moab. A town 
three miles N. of the river Arnon, and 13 miles E. from 
the Dead Sea; now in extensive ruins. Mentioned in 
Numb. xxi. 30 ; xxxii. 3, 34 ; Josh. xiii. 9, 17 ; Isaiah xv. 

2 ; Jer. xlviii. 22. Called Dibon-gad, Numb, xxxiii. 45, 
46, from having been rebuilded by Gad. Same as Dimon, 
Isaiah xv. 9, 9. This comprises all the references to this 
city; there was another, unknown. Illustrates the un- 
written goodness of God in the triumphs of his people; 
for this place, so insignificant now, was one of the strong 
and popular cities at the entrance of the Israelites. Oc- 
curs only nine times, as above. 

DOK, dor, generation, M, An important town on the 



44 EBAL. 

coast of the Mediterranean, about 1 6 m. S. of Cape Carmel. 
A small fishing village now occupies the site of the ancient 
city. Josh. xi. 2 ; xii. 23 ; xvii. 11 ; Judges i. 27 ; 1 Kings 
iv. 11 ; 1 Chron. vii. 29, are all the references. It illus- 
trates the unwritten history of the Canaanites, for this 
now contemptible village furnished a considerable num- 
ber of fighting men to one of the largest armies against 
Israel, and although given to M., the tribe could not drive 
out the inhabitants. 

DOTHAN, do'-than, the two wells, I. The site of 
this village is recognized 10 m. N. of Samaria, 40 m. N. 
from Jerusalem ; now uninhabited, but of historical in- 
terest, as the place where Joseph was taken captive by 
his brethren, Gen. xxxvii. 17. And again made re- 
markable by having afforded shelter to Elisha, who, 
when the city was surrounded by enemies, prayed, and 
then pointed out to his astonished servant "the hill 
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." 
2 Kings vi. 8-23. It is situated upon a green hill with 
some ruins and near a fertile plain and vale. The main 
road to Egypt runs near it. Lesson : — 1. God's unseen 
hosts and unknown purposes are greater than any which 
we see and know. 2. God's overruling providence, which 
works out salvation from even the errors of those who 
repent. 

DUMAH, dew'-mah, silence, J. A city 3 m. S. W. 
of Hebron, now in ruins. Mentioned only in Josh. xv. 
52. The other passage, Isa. xxi. 11, refers to a Dumah 
in Edom, S. of the Dead Sea. 

EBAL, e'-bae, a heap, M. A mountain 27 m. N". of 
Jerusalem and opposite Mt. Gerizim, near Shechem. 



EKEON. 45 

First referred to in Scripture in Deut. xi. 29, where Ebal 
is made the Mount of Cursing. It is also mentioned 
Deut. xxvii. 4, 13; Josh. viii. 30, 33. See Gerizim. 
Ebal is of about the same height as Gerizim, and affords 
nearly the same extent of view. Lesson : — God's justice 
and mercy are alike important; the certainty of his 
judgments, symbolized by Mount Ebal, is as firmly estab- 
lished as that of his rewards. 

EDEEI, ed'-re-i, strength. The capital of Bashan, 
30 m. E. of the N. end of the Sea of Galilee. It was in 
Manasseh, E. of the Jordan; Its remains are chiefly 
ruins three miles in circumference, on a bold promontory 
showing great "strength" of position. Many of the 
nouses are yet nearly perfect, and some of the inhabitants 
still dwell in houses the dates of whose erection, from 
inscriptions, seem to be nearly coeval with the times of 
our Saviour. Near here the giant Og was slain, Xumb. 
xxi. 33; Deut. i. 4; iii. 1, 10. See also Joshua xii. 4; 
xiii. 12, 31. Only about fifty families dwell here at pre- 
sent. A. D. 1142 the Crusaders made a sudden but un- 
successful attack upon it. It illustrates the difficulties 
met by the Israelites, and their success under God's favor ; 
for it must have been a very strong fortress. 

EGLON, eg'-eon, a heifer, J. This ancient city is 
now but a mass of ruins, covering a small hill nearly 30 
m. S. W. by W. from Jerusalem. It is referred to six 
times in Joshua, chapter x., and only twice more in 
Joshua xii. 12 and xv. 39. See its full history in these 
chapters. 

EKRON, ek'-ron, barrenness, J., and afterward to D. 
It is now a village of about fifty mud houses, with two 



46 ENDOR. 

finely-built wells, the only remnants of antiquity. The 
country around has a dreary appearance, and hence, per- 
haps, its name. It is interesting only as being the place 
to which the Philistines sent the ark after it left Gath ; 
when it crossed the broad valley just below (see map), it 
came in view, and then the inhabitants set up their cry : 
"They have brought * * the ark * * to slay us!" &c, 
1 Sam. v. 10. It is first mentioned in Joshua xiii. 3 ; 
afterward in chap. xv. and xix. ; in Judges i. ; in 1 Sam. 
v., vi., vii. and xvii. ; in 2 Kings i. ; and in Jer. xxv. ; 
Amos i. ; Zeph. ii. ; and lastly Zech. ix. Lesson : — That 
which proves a blessing and rejoicing to God's people 
may be a source of terror to the ungodly. 

ELAH, e'-eah, an oak, J. A valley S. W. by W., 
from Jerusalem 14 m. It is a beautiful valley with fields 
of grain, shut in by low ridges. In the midst of it 
is a dry torrent bed with many smooth pebbles and 
some acacia trees, called sumt by the natives, hence the 
modern name of the valley. Here David slew Goliath, 
1 Sam. xvii., and it was near Socoh that the battle was 
fought ; 1 Sam. xxi. 9 is the only other reference. Les- 
son : — The battle is not always to the strong. 

ELEALEH, el-e-a'-leh, offering to God, R. The 
ruins of this city are upon the top of a high hill about 
15 m. E. of the N. end of the Dead Sea. It is referred to 
in only four chapters — Numb, xxxii. 3, 37 ; Isa. xv. 4 ; 
xvi. 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 34. Illustrates prophecy fulfilled. It 
is a silent and deserted ruin. 

ENDOR, en '-dor, fountain of life or generation, M. 
It was in the territory of Issachar, though given to M. 
It is now a little ruinous mud village of about twenty or 



ENGEDI. 47 

thirty hovels, very dirty, and perched upon the rocky 
side or spur of a small range of hills called Little Her- 
mon, about three miles S. of Mount Tabor. There are 
a number of ancient caverns dug out of the rock above 
the village, any one of which might have been a fit habi- 
tation for a witch like the ancient witch of En dor. It 
is chiefly associated with that sad visit of the despairing 
monarch Saul, who came in the dead of night from 
Mount Gilboa, a walk of six miles over the mountain, 
and returned heart-broken, weary and fasting, to his camp 
at the fountain of Jezreel. The only references are 
Joshua xvii. 11 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 7 ; Ps. lxxxiii. 10. 
Lesson: — "My Spirit shall not always strive with man;" 
the mournful consequences of being forsaken of God. 

EN-GANNIM, en-gan'-nim, "well of gardens," L I. 
A town about 17 m. S. of Nazareth, of no noted import- 
ance. A pleasant fountain rises in the hills a few hun- 
dred yards back of the town, and serves to fertilize the 
gardens from which it derives its name. Only referred 
to in Joshua xix. 21 ; xxi. 29. The peculiar position 
and surroundings of the town are represented on the 
map. 

EN-GEDI, en-ge'-dy, "fountain of the kid," J. A 
city the remains of which are found upon the shore of 
the Dead Sea, E. a little S. of Hebron. There is here 
a fine fountain, which rushes out of the side of the hill 
and dashes along down upon the shore below, producing 
fertility on its way, until its waters are lost in the salt 
sea. The ruins are of no particular interest. It is men- 
tioned in Joshua xv. 62 ; 1 Sam. xxiii. 29 ; xxi v. 1 ; 2 
Chron. xx. 2 ; Song of Sol. i. 14 ; Ezek. xlvii. 10. Its 



48 EPHEAIM. 

more ancient name was Ha'-ze-zon Ta'-mar, Gen. xiv. 7 ; 
2 Chron. xx. 2. Near this place was the wilderness of 
En-gedi in which David hid himself. Lesson : — The 
powerful effect of a true spirit of forgiveness. 

EN-EIMMON, fountain of the 'pomegranate. See 
Eim'-mon, Neh. xi. 29. 

EN-EOGEL, en-ro'-gee, the fuller's fountain. A 
fountain about 1000 yards S. of the wall of the Mosque 
of Omar at Jerusalem, and at the junction of the Kidron 
and the Valley of Hinnom. It derives its name from the 
fact that here the fullers cleansed their cloths. This 
fountain was on the line separating Judah from Benja- 
min. It is one of three sources of water on which the 
inhabitants of modern Jerusalem depend. Joshua xv. 
7 ; xviii. 16 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 17 ; 1 Kings i. 9, are the only 
references. See the small map of Jerusalem on the S. 
E. corner of the large map. Associated with the narrow 
escape of David. Lesson : — How often have we, un- 
consciously, escaped far worse evils than those the suf- 
fering of which we deplored ! 

EN-SHEMESH, en-she'-mesh, fountain of the sun. 
Another fountain on the boundary between Judah and 
Benjamin, supposed to be identified with a small foun- 
tain about 4 m. E. of Jerusalem. The only references are 
Joshua xv. 7 ; xviii. 17. It is in the bottom of a deep 
and desolate glen. It is the only fountain for a great 
distance around. 

EPHE A IM, TEIBE OF. This tribe occupied a most 
fruitful, although in part mountainous, tract of country, 
comprising all the land just N. of D, and B., and extend- 
ing from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. The moun- 



ETAM. 49 

tains of Epliraim ran midway through the district N. 
and S., and extended as a continuous chain far south, 
even to the territory of Judah and Simeon. The district 
is sufficiently defined upon the map. It is named 38 
times, as either " the Mount " or the Tribe ; mentioned 
first as "Mount Ephraim" in Joshua xvii. 15, and as 
Ephraim simply in Judges viii. 2. 

EPHEAIM, probably the same as Ophrah, which 
see. 

EPHKATA or EPHKATH. See Bethlehem. Gen. 
xxxv. 16. 

ESDKAELON, not a Bible name, but it is same as Jez- 
reel, which see. It occurs in the Apocrypha, Judith i. 8. 

ESHCOL, esh'-kol, a bunch of grapes, J. The fa- 
mous valley in which the Hebrew spies cut a bunch 
of grapes of very great size. Found on the map running 
N. and S. by Hebron. It is a fertile valley and produces 
fine grapes at this time. The only references are Numb. 
xiii. 23, 24 ; xxxii. 9 ; Dent. i. 24. Lesson :— No gift of 
God's goodness will satisfy an ungrateful heart. 

ESHTEMOA, esh-te-mo'-a, which is heard, L J. A 
village 8 m. S. of Hebron still inhabited. It was as- 
signed to the priests, Joshua xxi. 14; and was one 
of the cities in which David hid from Saul, and one 
to the elders of which he sent presents, 1 Sam. xxx. 
28-31. It is mentioned 6 times, Joshua xv. 50 (origin 
of the name, 1 Chron. iv. 17, 19) ; vi. 57. Lesson : — 
Great men are not forgetful of favors. 

ETAM, e / -tam, their covering, J. This was a small 
town about a mile and a half S. W. of Bethlehem, now 
occupied by some ruins at a place called Ur'-tas, not far 
5 



50 GADAEENES. 

from Solomon's Pools. It must have been a beautiful 
place, as it is now in a beautiful and cultivated valley 
containing extremely fertile soil. The so-called " Hock 
Etam " may have been very near the city Etam, and was 
probably called so from it nearness to this city. The 
places of reference are four in number only : Judges xv. 
8, 11 ; 1 Chron. iv. (proper name 3) 32 ; 2 Chron. xi. 6. 
There are rocky cliffs on either side of Etam, and Sam- 
son, after his vengeance taken on the Philistines for 
burning his wife (Judges xv.), may have ascended these 
cliffs, called, as we have already intimated, after the city 
immediately adjoining. 

GABA, ga'-bah. See Geba, which is the same, 
Joshua xviii. 24. 

GAD, gad, a troop. The tribe of Gad was so named 
from Gad, the son of Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's servant, 
Gen. xxx. 9, 11. The boundaries of the Gadites E. of 
Jordan are seen at district marked VII. on the map. 
Deut. iii. 16 : Joshua xiii. 24-28. The region was fer- 
tile and beautiful, and included the land of Mount Gilead 
with its rich pasture-lands just suited to this tribe which 
"had a very great multitude of cattle," Numb, xxxii. 1. 

GADAEENES, gad-a-reens', inhabitants of Gadara, 
Gad / -a-rah. Gadara is a ruin 7 m. S. E. of the Sea of 
Tiberias, on a little hill at the head of a valley. It was 
once a large and splendid city, but is only alluded to 
once in the Scriptures, and then in connection with the 
miracle performed by our Lord on the demoniacs. There 
are a great number of rock-hewn tombs in and about 
Gadara, now called Urn Keis, and the ruins of this once 



GALILEE. 51 

beautiful place are nearly two miles in circuit. This 
name, Gadarenes, is the same as Gergesenes, Matt. viii. 
28. Keferred to only 3 times : Mark v. 1 ; Luke viii. 26, 
37. Lesson : — The lost opportunity. In our ignorance, we 
may sincerely pray for that which would bring misery 
upon us. 

GALILEE, gai/-i-lee, a circuit. This was the 
northernmost province of Palestine in the time 6f our 
Saviour, when those divisions allotted to the tribes had 
ceased to be generally known. It is however, first men- 
tioned by Joshua xx. 7, but then it was a much smaller 
region, as is seen in the description in 2 Kings xv. 29. 
It probably did not extend beyond the bounds of Naph- 
tali, and this northern part was called " Galilee of the 
Gentiles." When Solomon gave Hiram, King of Tyre, 
1 Kings ix. 11-13, twenty cities of Galilee in return for 
what Hiram had done toward building the temple and 
the king's house, Hiram was displeased with the gift, and 
called the place "Cabul" that is, " that which pleaseth notP 
Hiram needed corn and bread, and the rugged hills 
seemed to him unfitted for raising corn. At this time 
the Israelites did not occupy the land, but after these 
cities were returned by Hiram to Solomon, he filled them 
with his own people, 2 Chron. viii. 2. Its exact north- 
ern limits were uncertain. Galilee was the home of our 
Saviour ; here the greater part of his life was spent and 
the most of his miracles performed. The size of the 
district in the time of our Saviour is indicated on the 
map. Lesson : — The greatest good to the human race 
came out of the humblest part of Palestine. 

GALILEE, SEA OF. This sheet of water is 12J m. 



52 GALILEE. 

long and over 6 m. wide in the widest part ; its shape is 
sufficiently indicated on the map, as are the mountains 
also. In the evening the shadows and lights, caused by 
the steep and broken hills on the west, add much to the 
beauty of the lake, especially when associated with the 
grandeur and wildness of the eastern shore and hills 
which rise 2000 ft., and on whose sides the cattle grazing 
appear as specks, so lofty are those coast-ridges. The 
waters are pleasant to the taste and contain many fish, as 
they did in the time of our Saviour. But in those days 
the villages of Galilee were more numerous and more 
largely populated, and the shores of this sea, or lake, 
were crowded with those who either obtained their live- 
lihood from its waters or enjoyed a quiet residence upon 
its hillsides or plains. The writer once rode for more 
than a mile along the N..W. shore, where the small shells 
covered his horse's hoofs at every step, so many lay upon 
his path to Tiberias, and at the same time, there could be 
seen large numbers of ducks and other birds enjoying 
themselves upon the blue waters. 

Upon the W. shore of this lake our Saviour was 
walking when he met Simon, called Peter, and Andrew 
his brother, casting their nets into the sea, Matt. iv. 18, 
Mark i. 16 ; and James and John, Mark i. 19. Many 
miracles were performed at one time upon one of the 
high hills, probably just west of the city Tiberias, Matt, 
xv. 29, 30. On the E. coast our Saviour healed the 
deaf man, Mark vii. 31-37, and performed the miracle 
of feeding 4000 with seven loaves and a few small fishes, 
Mark viii. 9 ; and also the miracle of feeding the 5000 
with five loaves and two fishes, John vi. 1-14. It is pro- 



GATH. 53 

feable that on the hill just west of the city of Tiberias 
he uttered the fifth chapter of Matthew, and coming 
down into the Plain of Genesaret, on his way to Caper- 
naum, he repeated it, Luke vi. 20-49, just before reach- 
ing Capernaum. Down the S. E. ridges the swine ran 
into the sea. Mark v. 13 ; Luke viii. 33. See also Ca- 
pernaum for other miracles. Mentioned 71 times in the 
Old and New Testaments. Lesson : — Eegions rich in 
privileges abused are generally abounding in woes en- 
dured. There was no part of Palestine more favored 
and none more bitterly denounced than this. 

GATH, gath, a wine press. A celebrated city of the 
Philistines, and one of their five royal cities, Josh. xiii. 
3. It was 20 m. S. W. by W. of Jerusalem, and situated 
upon a hill as named and indicated on the map. On the 
hill are the ruins of an old castle, probably built by the 
Crusaders ; there are ruins lying around the base of the 
hill, and cisterns hewn in the rocks around and upon the 
hill. The first allusion to Gath is in Josh. xi. 22, 
wherein Gath is spoken of as the residence of the giants 
called Anakim (An'-a-kirn). It was the home of 
Goliath, 1 Sam. xvii. 4. Hither the ark was carried by 
the Philistines, to the great distress of the inhabitants, 

1 Sam. v. 8. To this city David fled from Saul, 1 Sam. 
xxi. 10, and upon this occasion was composed that beau- 
tiful 56th Psalm. In after years he returns to Gath (1 
Sam. xxvii. 3), and is well received. The Gittites became 
his personal friends, and some of them his body-guard, 

2 Sam. vi. 10 ; xv. 18-22. It was apparently in ruins in 
the time of Amos (vi. 2); and after an allusion to it in 
Micah i. 10, we hear no more of it in history. " Tell it 

5* 



54 GEBA. 

not in Gath" (2 Sam. i. 20) shows the probable influence 
the inhabitants possessed. The battle references are upon 
the map at the site. It was associated with many brave 
acts and narrow escapes of Richard I. during the Cru- 
sades. Lesson : — In our religious characters and conver- 
sation a proper regard is to be had to the opinion of the 
world. 

GATH-HEPHER, gath-hee'-fer, the wine press of 
the delver, Z. A little town about 3 m. N. E. of Naza- 
reth, now called Mash-had. It is on the top of a rocky 
hill and is divided by a little valley from Kefr Kenna. 
2 Kings xiv. 25 states that Jonah was born here, Josh. 
xix. 13. 

GAZA, ga'za, strong, J. It was a city of the Phil- 
istines. It is now a large town and is said to contain 
15,000 inhabitants, although it resembles a cluster of 
villages ; some of the houses are tolerably well built upon 
a low hill : the others are wretched huts of mud baked 
in the sun. The little hill, " El Montar," seen E. of the 
town about a mile off, is the place whither Samson car- 
ried the gates of the city when he escaped from confine- 
ment, Judges xvi. 1. It is called Azzah in Deut. ii. 23 ; 
1 Kings iv. 24, and in other places. In Josh. xi. 22 ; 
Judges xvi. 21 ; Jeremiah xxv. 20 ; xlvii. 1, 5 ; Amos i. 
6, 7 ; Zephaniah ii. 4 ; Zech. ix. 5, and Acts viii. 26 (the 
only place in the New Testament), we have the only in- 
teresting and important references. The place is covered 
with the ruins of its former greatness. 

GEBA, ge / -ba, a hill, L B. It is a little village 
standing upon a hill overlooking all the country eastward. 
It is about 6 m. N. of Jerusalem. It was held by the 



GENNESAKET. 55 

Philistines till Saul took it, 1 Sam. xiii. 3; 2 Sam v. 25. 
The origin or rebuilding of Geba is seen in 1 Kings xv. 
22. The idolatry at Geba is noticed in 2 Kings xxiii. 
8. The inhabitants were noted for the excellence of their 
voices in singing, Neh. xii. 29. A prophecy against 
Geba is in Isaiah x. 29, and one in favor of it, Zech. xiv. 
10. It is well to know that where Gibeah is spoken of 
in 1 Sam. xiv. 2, 5, 16, Geba is meant ; also in 1 Chron. 
xiv. 16, where Gibeon is used, Geba is meant, as is seen 
by comparing this last place with 2 Sam. v. 25 and 
2 Kings xxiii. 8. Lesson : — It is well to learn our 
weaker as well as our weakest traits. Praise for one vir- 
tue does not render blame for a vice unnecessary ; and 
contrariwise, punishment for one vice may not be incon- 
sistent with reward for virtue. 

GENNESAKET, gen-nes'-a-ret, the valley of flowers. 
This is the name of a beautiful plain on the W. of the 
lake which takes its name, u Gennesaret," from this plain. 
It is about 3 m. long and 2 wide, measuring from the 
lake toward the W. It is extremely fertile. There are 
hills completely surrounding it and very steep on the 
W. A beautiful stream irrigates the land, and flowers 
of many hues grow wild here. Its situation is indicated 
in John vi. 15-25, when compared with Mark vi. 45-56. 
Only a small part of it is now cultivated and the rest is 
covered with tangled thickets, oleanders, dwarf palms 
and gigantic thistles and brambles. It is said that the 
melons and cucumbers grown on this plain are the best 
in Palestine, and are sent to the markets of Damascus, 
Beyrout (Bay / -root) and Acre (A 7 -ker). In the times of 
our Saviour it must have been one of the most beautiful 



56 GEKIZIM. 

and fertile plains, perhaps the most so for its size, in all 
Palestine. Matt. xiv. 34 and Mark vi. 53 are the only 
references. Its only mention illustrates the exceeding 
readiness of some to come to Jesus for only temporal re- 
lief and deliverance from evil. 

GENNESAKET, LAKE OF. See Tiberias, Sea 
of. Luke v. 1. 

GEEAE, ge / -rar, a dispute. A royal city of the 
Philistines, 8 m. S. of Gaza and nearly 50 m. S. W. by 
W. from Jerusalem. It is now only a place of scattered 
ruins in a valley near three springs. The first mention 
of this place is in Gen. x. 19, afterward only in Gen. xx. 
1, 2, (Abraham's visit) ; xxvi. 1, 6, 17, 20, 26, Isaac's 
visit ; and 2 Chron. xiv. 13, 14. In early Christian times 
" a large and celebrated monastery" was builded and re- 
mained here many years. Lesson: — There is greater 
safety in truth than in prevarication. 

GEEGESENES, ger-ge-seens'. See Gadarenes. 
Matt. viii. 28, occurs only this once, and refers to the same 
people as the Gadarenes. 

GEEIZIM, gerAi-zim, cutters, E, A mountain 25 m. 
N. of Jerusalem, and having Shechem on its northern 
base, and Mt. Ebal across the valley northward (see the 
map). It is referred to first in Deut. xi. 29, wherein 
allusion is made to that first great arid solemn instruc- 
tion in public which God gave to the Israelites. Then 
the curses against all future sin were to be pronounced 
from Ebal, and the blessings for all future obedience from 
Gerizim, Deut. xxvii. 12. The acts commanded were 
performed by Joshua, viii. 30-33. The only other allu- 
sion by name to this mountain is in Judg. ix. 7. When 



GESHUK. 57 

Jothan thus reproved the men of Shechem he took ad- 
vantage of the easy descent on the S., and fled away into 
the dark and winding valleys of Mt. Ephraim before the 
pursuers could get up the steep and rocky heights on the 
E. above the city (see map). 

The place is noted in more modern times as the moun- 
tain whereupon the Samaritans worshipped. This wor- 
ship began- by the erection of a temple by one Sanballat, 
a Persian civil governor, whose daughter having married 
a son of the Jewish High Priest was the occasion of 
offence to the Jews, who therefore expelled the son of the 
High Priest from Jerusalem. Sanballat built this tem- 
ple for his son-in-law, hoping to divide the Jews ; in this 
he failed, but he attached the Samaritans to the mountain 
and place. This was before Christ 420 years. The Jews 
and the Samaritans became lasting enemies from this 
time. Even to-day there is a small remnant of Samari- 
tans who yearly worship, with their wives and child- 
ren, on the summit of Mt. Gerizim. The writer has 
stood on the flanks of Mt. Gerizim and heard the herds- 
men and peasants speaking upon the flanks of Mt. Ebal, 
across the valley, and members of our party could make 
inquiries, the answers to which were distinctly heard by 
all of us. The place was wonderfully suited to the ob- 
jects desired, both upon the occasion of the pronouncing 
of the blessings and cursings, and that of the parable of 
Jotham. The top of Gerizim is covered with ruins. 
Lesson : — The certainty of God's fulfilling his promises, 
in the full face of all his threats. , 

GESHUR, gesh'-ur, the sight of the valley. See Tra- 
CHONITIS. 2 Sam. iii. 3, and xiii., xiv., xv. 



58 GIBEAH. 

GETHSEMANE, geth-sem'-a-ne, an oil press. The 
place is about 250 yards E. of the walls of Jerusalem 
(see the map of Jerusalem on the S. E. corner of the 
large map). There are eight gnarled and ancient olives, 
with many flowers in the walled enclosure which now is 
called the garden, and which may be overlooked in part 
by ascending the side of the Mt. of Olives. The whole 
garden is surrounded by a high white stone ivall. The 
name was probably given because of an olive oil-press 
which anciently stood here and at which the olives, 
plucked from the trees on the neighboring heights, were 
pressed. The only passages in Scripture in which it is 
referred to by name are Matt. xxvi. 36, and Mark xiv. 32. 
Associated with : — The bodily as well as mental agony 
of our Saviour. 

1. GIBEAH, gib'-e-ah, a hill, B. A village proba- 
bly of 3000 or 4000 inhabitants before the time of the 
kings. It was only 2 m. a little E. of N. from Jerusalem, 
and in after times was the birth-place of Saul, and hence 
called Gibeah of Saul, 1 Sam. x. 26 ; xv. 34. Now it is 
simply a place of a few ruins. It was the scene of one 
of the most terrible tragedies in the history of Israel, 
which is described in Judges xix., xx., xxi. It was the 
seat of Saul's government during nearly all his reign, 
1 Sam. xiv. 2 ; xxii. 6 ; xxiii. 19. It is also called Gibeah 
of Benjamin, to distinguish it from Gibeah in Judah. 

Now we can understand why Saul chose it for a resi- 
dence, for being upon an elevation, it overlooked all the 
country for miles around. The history of this place may 
be traced still further in Josh, xviii. 28 ; Judges xix. 12- 
16; xx. 4-43 ; 1 Sam. x. 26 ; xi. 4 ; xiii. 2, 15 ; xv. 34; xxii. 



GIBEON. 59 

6 ; xxiii. 19 ; xxvi. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 6 ; xxiii. 29 ; 1 Chron. 
xi. 31 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 2 ; Isaiah x. 29 ; Hosea v. 8 ; ix. 
9 ; x. 9. Lesson : — The terrible consequences of the sin 
of a few when not rebuked by the many. 

2. GIBEAH, J. A city 10 m. S. W. of Jerusalem. 
Mentioned only once, Josh. xv. 57. Its situation is 
well represented on the map. 

3. There is a place called " a hill" in the last verse of 
Joshua (xxiv. 33), but in the Hebrew it is "Gibeah," 
and is represented at a village put down on the map 
nearly 12 m. N. of Jerusalem. Here Eleazar the son of 
Aaron was buried. 

4. GIBEAH, J. This name is used only in 2 Sam. 
vi. 3, 4; xxi. 6, in connection with Baale of Judah, 
which was Kirjath-jearim, and here Gibeah is the 
same as this latter place, which is about 5 m. a little N. 
of W. from Jerusalem. Gibeah was probably the hill 
part of Kirjath-jearim, and hence named with it (Josh. 
xviii. 28) as Gibeah. It is probable that Uzzah's act 
was one of presumption and self-importance. Lesson : — 
Sacred things are to be treated with outward reverence, 
and with the fear as well as love of God in our hearts. 

GIBEON, gib'-e-ost, hill, L. B. This was a royal 
city, mentioned only in the Old Testament, and builded 
upon a hill about 3 m. a little W. of N. from Jerusalem. 
We are first informed of the existence of this city in 
Josh. ix. 3, 17, wherein it is said that the Gibeonites, 
disguised in old garments, with mouldy bread, deceived 
Joshua and obtained a league with him and declaration 
of peace, because they asked not counsel of God, Josh, 
ix. 14. It was to preserve the conditions of this league 



60 GILBOA. 

that the wonderful battle was fought on behalf of the 
inhabitants of this city, described in the tenth chapter 
of Joshua. It became a Levitical city, Josh, xviii. 25 ; 
xxi. 17. Here the tabernacle was set up for many years 
under David and Solomon, 1 Chron. xvi. 39 ; xxi. 29 ; 
2 Chron. i. 3, 13. Other historical notices are found in 
Josh. x. ; xi. 19 ; xviii. 25 ; xxi. 17 ; 2 Sam. ii. 12, 13, 16, 
24 ; iii. 30 ; xx. 8 ; 1 Kings iii. 4, 5 ; ix. 2. A prophet 
was born here, Jer. xxviii. 1 : xli. 12, 16. At the eastern 
base of the hill, beneath a cliff, is a fine fountain, the 
source of which is in a cave hewn out of the solid rock, 
and the waters flow into a pool or tank farther down the 
hill (see upon the map). Near this pool it was where 
the 24 champions of Joab and Abner fought and died, 
2 Sam. ii. 12, and thus the place was called, The field of 
strong men," Helkath-haz-zurim^HeK-kath-haz^zu-rim). 
The spring and pool are rightly placed on the map. 
Illustrates God's care to teach the Israelites, and through 
them all others, the sacredness of a promise, although 
made to men coming under false guises. 

GIHON, gy / -hon, a bursting forth. There were two 
pools of this name ; the upper pool was about 700 yards 
W. of the Bethlehem gate of Jerusalem. The lower 
pool was about 100 yards W. of Mt. Zion. They are 
rightly represented on the map of Jerusalem at the S. E. 
corner of the great map. Solomon was anointed king at 
the upper pool, 1 Kings i. 33, 38, 45. The lower pool 
seems to have once been walled in to keep an enemy from 
obtaining advantage from its waters, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 14. 

GILBOA, gil-bo'-a, bubbling fountain. A moun- 
tain at the eastern part of the Plain of Esdraelon, or 



GILEAD. 61 

Plain of Megiddo, and about 50 N. of Jerusalem. At 
the W. end of the range is the fine fountain of Jezreel, 
which probably gave name to the mountain, Gilboa, (see 
meaning). Upon this mountain Saul gathered the Israel- 
ites to fight his last battle, and from it he looked down 
with terror upon the vast multitude of the Philistines 
gathered at its base nearShunem, about 4 miles to the N. 
From this mountain, Saul, in the dead of night, passed 
over to Endor, 6 miles N., to consult the witch, (notice 
on the map the rugged region), and then returned. The 
following day, on the same mountain, he died with his 
three sons. The history is found in 1 Sam. xxviii. 4; xxix. 
1 ; xxxi. 1, 8 ; 2 Sam. i. 6, 21 ; xxi. 12 ; 1 Chron. x. 1, 8. 
It is bleak and dreary. The elevation above the sea is 
about 2200 feet, and 1200 above the valley of Jezreel. 
Lesson: — A monument symbolizing the utter despair 
which follows upon the final departure of God from one 
who has sinned out his day of grace. 

GILEAD, giiAe-ad, rugged. A mountain range and 
a mountainous district on both sides of the River Jabbok 
E. of the Jordan. Although a rugged country, it was 
fertile and well wooded, with beautiful valleys and rich 
pasture grounds. The first notice that we have of this 
land is when Jacob is spoken of as stealing away from 
Laban, his father-in-law. He sets his face toward Mt. 
Gilead, and in this region he is overtaken by Laban and 
his brethren, Gen. xxxi. 21. It was from this country 
that the Ishmaelites came "bearing spicery and balm 
and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt/' (xxxvii. 
25). It was a land for cattle, Numb, xxxii. 1 ; Deut. ii. 
36 ; iii. 12, 13, 16 ; Josh. xvii. 1, 5, 6; Judges x. 4, 8, 17, 
6 



62 GILGAL. 

18 ; Judges xi. 8, 9, 10-29 ; xii. 4-7 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 26 ; 
1 Kings xvii. 1 ; 2 Kings x. 33 ; xv. 29 ; Solomon's Song 
iv. 1 ; vi. 5 ; Jer. viii. 22. See the importance of Gilead 
as it is classed with Lebanon in Jer. xxii. 6. Balm from 
here was exported into Egypt, xivi. 11. There was a 
prophecy concerning it, 1. 19. See description of it in 
later times (B. C. 780), Hosea vi. 8 ; xii. 11. See their 
terrible afflictions, Amos i., 3, 13. The triumph of God's 
people was prayed for, Micah vii. 14, showing how to 
the last Gilead was an inviting place. Prophecy con- 
cerning Gilead, Zech. x. 10. These are the principal 
passages of interest in which the land is mentioned, 
although the name occurs ninety-seven times, including 
the double name Jabesh-Gilead eleven times. Lesson : — 
No regions, however delightful, comfortable and beau- 
teous, are free from the ignominy, pollution and misery 
of sin. 

1. GILGAL, gii/-gal, a rolling, B. A place 15 m. 
E. from Jerusalem, and about 6 m. W. from Jordan. 
The place cannot be determined exactly, but it is near 
the location indicated on the map. It was the first en- 
campment of the Israelites in Canaan, where they pitched 
their tents immediately after their passage over the 
Jordan. Here they set up 12 stones taken from the bed 
of the river. In after times it became a settled town 
and a grand rally ing-place for the tribes, Josh. iv. 19, 
20 ; v. 9, 10. Llere Joshua received the Gibeonites, who 
had come only from Gibeon, some 17 m. off, and yet 
represented themselves as coming from a far country, 
Josh. ix. 6 ; x. 6, 7, 9, 15, 43. Here was the tabernacle 
till taken to Shiloh, Josh, xviii. 1. Joshua resided 



GOLGOTHA. 63 

here for a season, Josh. xiv. 6. Here was the 
scene of the events described in Judges iii. 19 ; 1 Sam. 
vii. 16; x. 8; xi. 14, 15; xiii. 8, 12, 15. This is the 
place whither Elisha went after Elijah was taken away, 
and where the prophets' school was, 2 Kings iv. 38. 
Their wickedness is asserted in Hosea ix. 15 ; xii. 11 ; 
Amos iv. 4. Prophecy concerning it is in Amos v. 5. 
Lesson : — Some men will transgress in full view of the 
tokens of God's past favors to them. 

2. GILGAL, E. The other Gilgal was, as indicated 
on the map, 15 m. N. of Jerusalem, and is referred to in 
2 Kings ii. 1, and Neh. xii. 29. The 12 stones were 
doubtless in the former Gilgal during the people's idola- 
try, and Hosea iv. 15 indicates a similar sin in this Gilgal. 
Lesson : — Same as in last Gilgal. 

GIMZO, gim / -zo, that bulrush, D. A city which the 
Philistines took, 2 Chron. xxviii. 18. Only once men- 
tioned. It was 17 m. N. TV. of Jerusalem. One of the 
cities suffering from the sins of an evil ruler, Ahaz. 

GITTITE, git / -tite, inhabitant of Gath. Josh. xiii. 
3 ; 2 Sam. vi. 10, 11 ; xv. 18, 19, 20 ; xviii. 2 ; xxi. 19 ; 
1 Chron. xiii. 13 ; xx. 5. 

GOLAN, go'-lan, passage, L M. A city of refuge in 
Bashan, the exact location of which is not known, but 
it was somewhere near the ? marked on the map, about 
12 m. "N. E. of the Sea of Tiberias. It was the most 
northern of the three cities of refuge E. of the Jordan. 
Deut. iv. 43 ; Josh. xx. 8 ; xxi. 27 ; 1 Chron. vi. 71, are 
the only references. As a city of refuge it was a type 
of Jeeus (see Heb. vi. 18). 

GOLGOTHA, goi/-go-tha, a heap of skulls. Sup- 



64 HALHUL. 

posed to be at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (No. 
12, Map Jerusalem), Matt, xxvii. 33 ; Mark xv. 22 ; John 
xix. 17. This church is thought to cover the very spot 
where our Saviour was crucified, and also where he was 
buried. There are pits and " places" around Jerusalem, 
at the present day, where skulls and bones are thrown. 
The writer saw one near the W. wall, wherein had been 
cast a large quantity, of human skulls and bones. 
Such a place would be known as the place of the skull, 
the Golgotha, and near such a place they crucified Jesus. 
GOMOKIiAH, go-mobZ-rah, to cover with water. One 
of the five cities burned with fire and brimstone. The 
first notice occurs in Gen. x. 19. It was situated in a 
beautiful country, Gen. xiii. 10. It is probable that the 
position on the map near the W. part of the southern 
end of the Dead Sea is the proper position, since Abra- 
ham is said to have looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah 
and to have seen the smoke of the country ; and the whole 
account, considering that Abraham was at Hebron and 
saw all from the hill near at hand, seems to place Sodom 
and Gomorrah at the S. end of the Dead Sea, Gen. xix. 
28. Other references of interest are in Deut. xxix. 23 ; 
xxxii. 32. Lesson: — Gomorrah and Sodom were fre- 
quently used as examples of God's punishment and 
hatred of sin, Isaiah i. 9, 10 ; xiii. 19 ; Jer. xxiii. 14 ; 
xlix. 18 ; 1. 40 ; Amos iv. 11 ; Zeph. ii. 9 ; Matt. x. 15; 
Mark vi. 11 ; Eom. ix. 29 ; 2 Pet, ii. 6 ; Jude vii. 

HAI, ha'-i, see Ai, with which it is the same in place, 
and, slightly altered, in name. 

HALHUL, hai/-hu:l, praise, J. A town mentioned 



HAEOD. 65 

only once in the Scriptures, Josh. xv. 58. It is 4 m. N. 
a little E. of Hebron ; see the map for its position. Near 
it is an old mosque dedicated to the prophet Jonah, and 
just E. is the village encompassed with vineyards and 
fields. What is interesting about Halhul is that the name 
has come down unaltered through 3300 years. Only 
mentioned as a city belonging to Judah. 

HAADIATH, ham'-math, warm water, L. N. A city 
mentioned only once, Josh. xix. 35, but located at about 
a mile or more S. of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. 
Here are warm waters, flowing from a spring, which 
seem to have been used from time immemorial, for hot 
baths because of their medicinal value. Hundreds and 
thousands, for many centuries, have visited this place. 
Only mentioned in the list of towns. 

HAEOD, WELL OF, ha'-rod, trembling. This well 
is also called " the fountain in Jezreel," 1 Sam. xxix. 1, 
meaning the valley of Jezreel, and is referred to but once 
as " Harod," Judges vii. 1, in connection with the re- 
markable victory of Gideon over the Amalekites and 
Midianites. The valley here is 3 m. wide, and Gideon 
pitched by this spring. It is a large fountain, and bursts 
out from a rude grotto in the base of Mt. Gilboa, which 
rises with heavy crags immediately over the fountain. 
It is supposed that the name " trembling " was given to 
the fountain because that Gideon gave the command to 
the "fearful" ones to return from this place to their 
homes, Judg. vii. 3. The fearful ones, or trembling ones, 
amounting to 22,000, left a memento of their cowardice in 
the name of the fountain. It is 50 m. a little to the E. 
of N. from Jerusalem. The Crusaders frequently made 
6 * 



66 HEBRON. 

this fountain a place of encampment. Lesson : — A lack 
of courage in God's cause always brings fear, trembling 
and final disgrace ; cowards are not wanted in God's 
army. 

HALTRAN, haw'-ran. A tract of country men- 
tioned only twice in Scripture, Ezek. xlvii. 16, 18. In 
the earliest ages this tract (which is E. of the Sea of 
Galilee 35 m., and plainly indicated on the map) extended 
to Damascus, but in after times, as at present, was par- 
ticularly confined to that region beginning about 50 m. 
below Damascus and extending about 30 m. farther S. 
It was called Auranitis by the Greeks. This country is 
extremely fertile and has but few rocks or hills. It in- 
cludes the ruins of the splendid city of Bozrah and those 
also of Beth-Gamul. It still retains the name Hauran. 
Lesson : — God's promised restoration of all lands, how- 
ever desolate and heathen, to the knowledge of his word, 
his power and his favor. 

HEBRON, he'-bron, friendship, J. This is one of 
the most ancient cities in the world, and the first notice 
of it occurs in Gen. xiii. 18 in connection with the visit 
of Abraham to the land of Canaan. Its most ancient 
name was Kir'-jath-Ar'-ba, or city of Arba, that being 
the name of the father of the giant Anakim, Gen. xxiii. 
2 ; and once it seems to have taken the name of the 
plain near it, namely, "Marnre," Gen. xxiii. 19. It is 
about 18 m. S. of Jerusalem and the same distance W. 
of the Dead Sea. The city lay in a beautiful valley, the 
valley of Eshcol, and the two pools indicated on the 
map are ancient pools, one of which is alluded to in 2 
Sam. iv. 12. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob made Hebron 



HERMON. 67 

their abiding-place for much of their lives, and here they 
were all buried in that part E. of the city, marked on 
the map as the cave of Machpelah. Here also were 
buried Sarah and Joseph, and the time may yet come 
when the actual embalmed remains of some or all of 
these ancient dead may be found, as some embalmed 
bodies in Egypt have been, and they may be proved to 
be the remains of the patriarchs, as some of the ancient 
dead of Egypt have been similarly proven to be the 
ancient dead of the great men of Egypt. No tomb has 
been preserved so sacredly as this. The principal notices 
in the Scriptures are Gen. xxiii. 2, 19 ; xxxv. 27 ; xxxvii. 
14 ; Numb. xiii. 22 ; Josh. x. 3-39 ; xi. 21 ; xii. 10 ; xiv. 
13-15; xv. 13, 54; xx. 7 ; xxi. 11, 13; Judges i. 10, 20; 
2 Sam. ii. 1, 3, 11, 32 ; iii. 2, 5-32 ; iv. 1, 8, 12 ; v. 1, 3, 5, 
13 : xv. 7, 9, 10; 1 Kings ii. 11 ; 1 Chron. iii. 1, 4; vi. 
55, 57. Lesson : — No reward is so great and lasting as 
that which follows an unwavering faith in God. 

HELBON, heiZ-bon, fatness. This place is men- 
tioned but once, and that in Ezek. xxvii. 18. It was 
noted for its wine, and is situated in a beautiful glen 11 
m. N. N. E. of Damascus ; its position and surroundings 
are sufficiently described upon the map. Lesson : — The 
deprivations of the ungodly: the joys which they 
boast of who forget God, are, when taken away, the 
causes of greater sorrow than if they never possessed 
them. Helbon cheered Tyre simply because of God's 
gifts in nature. 

HERMON, her'-mon, anathema, or destruction. This 
mountain, the most celebrated in Scripture, is nearly 40 
m. E. of N. from the Sea of Galilee. It has a triple 



68 HEKMON. 

peak, as represented on the map, and is, according to the 
latest measurement, about 9370 feet high, and next to the 
highest peak of Lebanon, which is Jebel Mukmel on the 
other range, a mountain 770 feet higher. There is- snow 
upon this peak all the year. It was once included in the 
kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, Josh. xii. 5, and was 
called by the Amorites Shenir, and by the Sidonians 
Sirion, Deut. iii. 9, the meaning being in both cases the 
same, namely, "breast-plate" perhaps because of the 
snow shining in the sun like a steel plate. At first all 
this mountain range was called Hermon, but when the 
Israelites came to know the country about it, they made 
appropriate distinctions, for Mt. Hermon in its ranges 
and ridges covered a district 10 m. square. Hence we 
read in 1 Chron. v. 23, of Baal-Hermon, Amana, Senir, 
and Mt. Hermon, each being a part of Mt. Hermon 
formerly called also Zion, Deut. iv. 48. The mountain 
was thus composed of many smaller mountains, hence in 
the42d Psalm, 6th verse, it is called the Hermonites, that 
is, the Hermons. 

On the southern flank of this mountain, probably 
among one of the many smaller hills standing out by 
themselves above Dan, our Saviour was transfigured 
(Matt. xvii. 2; Markix. 2,) although some suppose that 
that event took place on Tabor E. of Nazareth. 

The scenery around this region is very grand and in 
some places gloomy, and here are, perhaps, the oldest 
temples erected to the ancient pagan deity Ashteroth, 
whose groves caused so much sin and sorrow in after 
years throughout Palestine. Baal-Hermon is a name 
significant of such an ancient temple upon some peak of 






HINNOM. • 69 

the same name, though the site of this temple is not yet 
identified. The first notice is in Deut. iii. 8, 9. After 
notices in Deut iv. 48 ; Josh. xi. 3, 17 ; xii. 1, 5 ; xiii. 5, 
11 ; 1 Chron. v. 23 ; Ps. lxxxix. 12 ; cxxxiii. 3 ; Song of 
Solomon iv. 8. Illustration: — Of the truth that God 
has not left himself without a witness in the hearts of 
all men ; this mountain seemed to answer the calls of a 
heathen world for something great and solemn in God. 
Hence it was the seat of the earliest temples, built long 
before the times of Abraham and Moses, and the remains 
of which may still be seen. 

HESHBON, hesh'-bon, industry, R. This city, first 
given to R. and then probably made over to 6., was 13 
m. E. of the N. end of the Dead Sea. Its first mention 
is in Numb. xxi. 25-35, where we find its earliest history 
and the names of its earliest owners. Principal refer- 
ences are Numb, xxxii. 37 ; Deut. i. 4; ii. 24, 26, 30 ; iii. 
2, 6 ; xxix. 7 ; Josh. xii. 2, 5 ; xiii. 10, 17 ; Judges xi. 
19, 26 ; Song of Solomon vii. 4 ; Isaiah xv. 4 ; xvi. 8, 9 ; 
Jer. xlviii. 2, 34, 45 ; xlix. 3. After the ten tribes were 
sent into exile it was taken possession of by the Moabites, 
hence the prophecies concerning it. It must have been 
a large and magnificent town. There are large reser- 
voirs connected with this and with other towns of the 
neighborhood. Illustration : — Of the prowess of the 
Israelites and the fulfillment of prophecy. 

HINNOM, hin'-nom, valley of, J. B, This valley 
was on the boundary line of J. and B., bounding Jerusa- 
lem on the S. W. It was probably named Hinnom from 
some previous owner, but the meaning of the name is 
lost. The valley is chiefly notorious from the sacrifices 



70 HUKKOK. 

to two idol gods, Chemosh and Molech, whose "high 
places" were builded by Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 7. The 
worship was attended with abominable sacrifices. A 
monster brass idol was erected in the valley opposite to 
the Mt. of Offence (see map of Jerusalem), and into the 
red-hot arms of this idol the children of Israel cast their 
children. This worship was continued after the death of 
Solomon, 2 Chron. xxviii. 3 ; xxxiii. 6 ; Jer. vii. 31. It 
was abolished by Josiah and the place strewed with 
bones, to render it defiled in the sight of all the Jews, 
2 Kings xxiii. 10, 14. No Jews could enter it after this, 
and as one looks up to the numberless tombs cut into the 
rock of Mt. Olives near this place, he may be able to see 
how strictly has been fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah, 
vii. 32. It was to be called the valley of slaughter, Jer. 
vii. 32 ; xix. 6, and it is probable that it was literally 
fulfilled, for we read that the last terrible slaughter be- 
tween the Jews and the Romans took place here, and 
here also the dead bodies were thrown after the siege of 
Jerusalem (Wars of the Jews vi. 8, 5 ; v. 12, 7). It was 
also called Tophet, i. e. " a place to spit upon," 2 Kings 
xxiii. 10 ; Isaiah xxx. 33 ; Jer. vii. 31, 32 ; xix. 6, 11, 12, 
13, 14. Illustrates the fulfillment of prophecy. 

HUKKOK, hukZ-kok, a scribe or lawyer, N. The 
existence of a modern village by this name, 4 m. N. W. 
of the Sea of Galilee, makes it probable that the ancient 
town was situated in this place. It is referred to but 
once, and then only to determine the boundary line of 
Naphtali. It was a different place from Hukok (Hew 7 - 
kok) at 1 Chron. vi. 75, which belonged to Asher, and 
whose site is not known. 



ISSACHAE. 71 

IJON, i'-jon, eye, fountain, N. This city was about 
30 m. N. of the Sea of Galilee, and builded upon an 
elevation commanding a view of the country around, but 
chiefly on the S., as a fine plain lay in that direction. 
There are the signs of an ancient city in the remains 
upon the hill. The history may be found in 1 Kings 
xv. 20 ; 2 Kings xv. 29 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 4, the only places 
in which it is mentioned. The nature and physical 
character of the surrounding country are sufficiently 
noted on the map. Lessons.: — 1. The injury to others 
which follows disagreement among brethren. 2. The 
bitterness of a revengeful spirit. Asa and Benhadad 
became friends, as Pilate and Herod did in after times, 
Luke xxiii. 12. 

IKON, supposed to be the same as Ijon, Josh. xix. 
38. 

IRSHEMESH, ir-she'-mesh, city of the sun. Same 
as Beth-shemesh, which see, Josh. xix. 41. 

ISSACHAE, is'-sa-kar, reward. This district was 
bounded N., as in tribe section No. V., by Z,, E. by the 
Jordan, S. and W. by the half of Manasseh. It was an 
exceedingly rich portion of the land, and included the 
fertile plain of Megiddo (see map). The tribe was 
noted for prudence and wisdom, 1 Chron. xii. 32. On 
quitting Egypt this tribe numbered 54,400 adult males, 
making it the fifth in rank, as to number, among the 12 
tribes. Afterward it grew to 64,300, and ranked the third 
among the tribes, Judah and Dan only being more 
numerous, Numb. i. 29 ; xxvi. 25. Lesson : — The quiet- 
ness, rest and peace which flow from wisdom combined 
with prudence. 



72 JABESH. 

ITUEEA, it-tj-be'-a. This district, mentioned only 
once, Luke iii. 1, was on the N. of Bashan. It proba- 
bly included the S. base of Hernion on its northern 
limit, had Trachonitis on the E. and Auranitis on the 
S. (see map). Its name was probably derived from the 
ancient owner, "Jeter/' Gen. xxv. 15, 16, hence Jeturea 
or Iturea, and now it is called Jedur. The soil is rich, 
and the pasture being excellent and waters abundant, 
thousands of sheep graze upon its plains. Illustrates the 
correctness of the Gospel history, for collateral history 
shows that Philip was Tetrarch, as stated, only a short 
time and at that juncture of Roman affairs, giving a 
true test of the Gospel historical accuracy. 

JABBOK, jab'-bok, pouring out. This river, empty- 
ing into the E. side of Jordan midway between the Sea of 
Galilee and the Dead Sea, runs through a narrow, deep 
and wild ravine near the Jordan, and is a constant stream 
there, but farther inland it is only a winter torrent and 
dry in summer (see course on the map). It was proba- 
bly at a ford only four or five miles a little E. of N. from 
Mt. Gilead that Jacob wrestled with the angel, as the 
main and ancient road of travel passes here. Now it is 
called Wady Zurka, Gen. xxxii. 22 ; Numb. xxi. 24 ; 
Deut. ii. 37 ; iii. 16 ; Josh. xii. 2 ; Judges xi. 13, 22. 
Lesson : — The forgiving and condescending grace of God 
to one of his sinning but earnestly repentant children. 
This might well be called " the River of Prayer." 

JABESH, or JABESH-GILEAD, dry. A city near 
Mt. Gilead, and perhaps 23 m. S. a little E. from the Sea of 
Galilee. There are some ruins there called Ed Deir (the 



JAKMUTH. 73 

convent), and the valley bears the name Jabesh vet. 
The first mention of this place is in connection with the 
sin and terrible punishment of the Benjamites, Judges 
xxi. 8. The inhabitants afterward, when threatened 
with slavery by the Ammonites, sent to the recently 
elected king, Saul. He came suddenly upon the host of 
the Ammonites and defeated them. The inhabitants of 
Jabesh were unable to requite the benefit until the death 
of Saul, but then they went to Bethshan and took down 
the bodies of Saul and his sons and buried them as a 
token of honor to the memory of their deliverer. See 
the history in 1 Sam. xi. 1-10 ; xxxi. 11-13 ; 2 Sam. ii. 
4, 5 ; xxi. 12 ; 1 Chron. x. 11, 12. It illustrates the 
courage, as well as love, which constitutes true gratitude. 

JABNEEL, jab'-ne-el, God causeth to be builded, J. 
A city 25 m. a little N. of W. from Jerusalem, called 
also Jabneh, 2 Chron. xxvi. 6. It is upon an eminence 
2 m. from the sea-coast, only mentioned in Josh. xv. 11. 
The Crusaders thought this place was the ancient city of 
Gath, and they built a fortress here called Ibelin, the 
ruins of which remain. The Mt. Baalah spoken of in 
connection with this city was just E. of Jabneel (see 
map). Only mentioned as a town on the border of 
Judah. 

JAPHO, ja'-fo, Josh. xix. 46. See Joppa.. 

JAKMUTH, jafZ-mooth, lofty, J. An ancient royal 
city of Canaan, and one which joined with four others 
against the Gibeonites and was defeated by Joshua, 
Josh. x. 3, 5, 23. Its king was hanged with others at 
Mak-ke'-dah (place unknown), Josh. xii. 11 ; xv. 35 ; 
Neh. xi. 29. The village now is poor and small, but 



74 JEBUS. 

there are some traces of past greatness. Illustrates the 
importance of making a promise as well as keeping one, 
for had not Joshua made a promise this place might not 
have been destroyed in his successful attempt to keep 
the promise. 

JATTIR, jat'-tir, height, L J. A Canaanitish city 
which was probably favorable to David, as he sent them 
a present from the spoils, 1 Sam. xxx. 27. First men- 
tioned. Josh. xv. 48 ; xxi. 14 ; 1 Chron. vi. 57. It is at 
present a little place on a height, 11 m. a little W. of S. 
from Hebron. Lesson : — " When a man's ways please the 
Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with 
him." 

JAZER, ja'-zer, Jehovah helps, G, This city, in the 
general land of Mt. Gilead, gave name to the district 
immediately surrounding itself, "the land of Jazer," 
Numb, xxxii. 1. The city was important and the land 
around very fertile. First notice is in Numb. xxi. 32 ; 
afterward mentioned in Josh. xiii. 25 ; xxi. 39 ; 2 Sam. 
xxiv. 5. Mighty men of valor lived here, 1 Chron. 
xxvi. 31 ; Isaiah xvi. 8, 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 32. It was pro- 
bably about 18 m. N. E. of N. end of Dead Sea, as seen 
on the map. Lesson : — same as Helbon. 

JEBUS, je / -bus, trodden underfoot, perhaps threshing 
floor. The ancient name of Jerusalem, Judges xix. 10, 
11 ; 1 Chron. xi. 4, 5. It was the stronghold and capital 
of a powerful people, the Jebusites, who were descended 
from one of the sons of Canaan, Gen. x. 16. Their 
king was at the head of the league formed against the 
Gibeonites, Josh. x. 1. It was builded upon the same 
hill upon which in after times Jerusalem was builded. 



JEEICHO. 75 

JEHOSHAPHAT, je-hosh'-a-fat, God judges. A 
noted valley called thus, probably because of the mean- 
ing of the name. It is supposed to be the same as the 
valley of Kidron, E. of Jerusalem. See Joel iii. 2, 12. 
It is probable, however, that no actual valley was intended 
by the name, but simply that God should bring all the 
people together to judge them, and in that act of judg- 
ment all would be humble and satisfied with the cor- 
rectness of the judgment of God. Hence their humility 
was likened to a valley. 

JERICHO, jer/-i -ko, fragrant, B. This city was about 
12 m. from Jerusalem, a little N. of E., and just at the 
opening of the valley of Achor, or the brook Cherith. Its 
site has been, at different times, in no less than three places. 
First, when the Israelites crossed the Jordan it was near 
the fountain called Ain es Sultan (see map), about 1J m. 
N, of the valley opening ; after that it was destroyed. It 
was rebuilt and existed, in the time of our Saviour, at 
the ruins in the mouth of the valley, as indicated on the 
map, where there is to-day a large reservoir and many 
ruins. At present a small representative of the ancient 
town is about 3 m. E. of the mouth of the valley, at the 
present miserable village called Eriha, where there is a 
very old low tower called " Zaccheus' House," but evi- 
dently a relic of the Crusades. 

When the writer was in Jericho this tower was used 
as a watch-tower and out-post to keep guard over the 
plain, but there are no ruins here. The ancient city 
was called the City of Palm Trees, but every palm tree 
has disappeared. It was once the garden spot of all 
Palestine. The precious balm grew here, and the sweet- 



76 JEKUSALEM. 

smelling henna of Egypt or camphire of Scripture ; 
and such was the fertility of the surrounding region that 
Cleopatra coveted and obtained it as her possession. The 
inhabitants are very degraded and lazy, and are consid- 
ered, the meanest of the land. The fountain Ain es Sul- 
tan, spoken of above, is the same, most probably, which 
Elisha healed. Of 63 places of reference the following 
are the most interesting : first place of mention being 
Numbers xxii. 1 ; Deut. xxxii. 49 ; xxxiv. 1, 3 ; Joshua 
ii. 1, 2, 3 ; iii. 16 ; iv. 13, 19 ; v. 10, 13 ; vi. 1, 2, 25, 26 ; 
vii. 2 ; viii. 2 ; xvi. 1, 7 ; xviii. 12, 21 ; xx. 8 ; xxiv. 11 ; 
2 Sam. x. 5. Rebuilding of Jericho, 1 Kings xvi. 34 ; 
2 Kings ii. 4, 5, 15, 18; xxv. 5; 2 Chron. xxviii. 15; 
Jer. xxxix. 5 ; lii. 8 ; Matt. xx. 29 ; Mark x. 46 ; Luke 
x. 30 ; xviii. 35 ; xix. 1 ; Heb. xi. 30. Lesson : — God has 
frequently used that which, to human sight, was very 
inadequate to effect exceedingly mighty and remarkable 
results, proving that the power was of God, and not 
of man. 

JEEUSALEM, je-roo'-sa-lem, the foundations of 
peace. The first notice that we have of this city, under 
this name, is in Joshua x. 1, 3, 5, 23. As to the origin 
of the name, it may be supposed that, having been in 
part originally called Salem, when the whole number of 
the parts after united in the later city were spoken of, 
they were called the " foundations of Salem," or, in the 
short word, Jerusalem. Its use in Joshua was in antici- 
pation of the time when it was called, in full, Jerusalem, 
for at that time and for some years after the entrance of 
the Israelites, it was known among them only as Jebus, 
which see. 



JEKUSALEM. 77 

It had such strong natural foundations that, as it is said, 
the children of Judah could not (Josh. xv. 63), and the 
children of Benjamin (Judges i. 21) did not, drive out the 
inhabitants or possess the place. The stronghold of Zion 
remained in the possession of the Jebusites until the 
time of David, about 1048 B. C. David then conquered 
it, and it became, after that, the residence of the kings. 
David now took measures to have the ark of God, which 
hitherto was at Kir'-jath-je'-a-rim, 6 m. N. W. of the 
city, removed to the city and placed on Mt. Zion in a 
tabernacle. The Lord having forbidden David to build 
a temple, Solomon undertook the work, which was finished 
after seven and a half years (1004 B. C). Solomon sin- 
ned in erecting "high places" to the gods of his wives, 
and after his death the kingdom was divided into Israel 
and Judah. Jerusalem was then attacked by Shishak, 
king of Egypt, and plundered B. C. 972. About 150 
years later Amaziah made war against Joash, and broke 
down some 600 or 700 feet of the wall of Jerusalem. 
Assyria had already taken the ten tribes captive (721 B. 
C.) and conquered Samaria, and coming up by her gene- 
ral Sennacherib (Sen-nak / -ke-rib), encamped against 
Jerusalem upon the west at a place long known as the 
Camp of the Assyrians. Here 185,000 were destroyed 
by the angel of God in one night and the army com- 
pletely defeated. B. C. 588 Nebuchadnezzar invested 
the city with his armies, and Zedekiah escaping was taken 
captive at Jericho, carried northward, his eyes put out, 
and then brought as a captive to Babylon. At this time 
or soon after, Jerusalem and the temple were burned and 
the walls destroyed to the ground. Then was fulfilled 
7* 



78 JEEUSALEM. 

that terrible prophecy (Lev. xxvi. 34), and the land 
" enjoyed her Sabbaths" till the end of the seventy 
years of captivity, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21. 

B. C. 515 the temple was rebuilded and dedicated, but 
Jerusalem was still in ruins until the time of Nehemiah, 
when the rebuilding was undertaken and the whole wall 
finished in fifty-two days, B. C. 445. The city was after 
this taken by Ptolemy Soter of Egypt, and fell into the 
hands of the Ptolemies B. C. 301, and remained thus for 
more than 120 years, and under their peaceful rule the 
city prospered. B. C. 298 the city was taken by Antio- 
chus, king of Syria, but it fell into the hands of the Jews 
by the bravery of Judas Maccabeus B. C. 165. Pompey, 
63 B. C, made a breach in the wall, and after great 
slaughter took possession of the temple. From this 
time Jerusalem remained under Boman rule. Herod the 
Great came into power about B. C. 37, having ob- 
tained the appointment of king of Judea. He died a 
few months after the birth of our Saviour. Porcius 
Festus (the same alluded to in Acts xxiv. 27) was then 
appointed, A. D. 60. Many circumstances of an over- 
bearing and selfish nature on the part of governors, ren- 
dered the Jews so rebellious that the city was finally at- 
tacked by Titus in April, A. D. 70, at the time when it 
was crowded with those who had gone up to the passover 
from all parts of the country. From the hill Scopus, 
about 1200 yards N. (see map), Titus had a fair view of 
the city. Jerusalem was taken after the most terrific re- 
sistance on the part of the Jews and slaughter on the part 
of the Romans. It was reduced to ashes, except three 
great towers, on the western wall, of which the tower 



JEEUSALEM. 79 

of Hippicus or castle of David yet remains (see map). 
Nothing of any consequence is heard of Jerusalem till 
A. D. 130. At this time the Emperor Hadrian would 
have rebuilt the walls, but another fearful rebellion oc- 
curred under one Ben Coziba, who proclaimed himself 
the Messiah. Two years were spent in suppressing this 
rebellion, and Coziba was slain. The insurgents betook 
themselves to Bitter, about 4 m. S. W. of the walls (see 
map), which, after famine and many deaths, was taken 
with great slaughter of the Jews, A. D. 135. Hadrian 
now utterly demolished what remained of Jerusalem and 
erected an entirely new city, calling it iElia Capitolina, a 
combination of his middle name and part of that of Jupiter 
Capitolinus. No Jew was allowed to come within three 
miles of the city, and to abolish every thing Jewish, a 
temple of Jupiter and statues of the emperor occupied 
the site of the ancient Jewish temple, and a temple of 
Astarte, the ancient Syrian Venus, was erected on the 
site of that which had been recognized as the Holy 
Sepulchre. The worship of Serapis was introduced from 
Egypt, and the military ensigns of Eome were sculptured 
over all the gates. The Christians of Gentile descent, 
however, were allowed to return and remain there, and 
those who had, before the destruction, fled at our Saviour's 
warning to the distant city Pella, beyond Jordan, about 
55 m. N. a little E. of Jerusalem (see map), settled 
in Jerusalem, and at this time the first Gentile bishop, St. 
James, was appointed. The adoption of Christianity, A. 
D. 313, produced a great change in Jerusalem. The em- 
press Helena, mother of Constantine visited the holy 
places in her 80th year (A. D. 326), and founded many 



I 



80 JERUSALEM. 

churches and monuments, among the most noted of 
which was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (see map) 
over the spot where the reputed cross was found in re- 
moving the temple of Astarte. The apostate emperor 
Julian attempted, with the aid of the Jews, to falsify the 
prophecy of our Saviour and rebuild the temple, but 
was prevented by supernatural signs, earthquakes and fire, 
according to tradition, and after his death the Jews were 
again excluded, except upon the day of the captivity of 
the city, when they were permitted to come and bewail 
the destruction of the temple. This act of lamentation 
is continued at a certain place called the " Jews' wailing- 
place," on the W. of the temple area, down to the pre- 
sent day. In A. D. 529 Justinian built a temple to the 
Virgin Mary on the site of the ancient temple. But now 
another terrible time approached. The Persian monarch 
Chosroes II., joined by 24,000 Jews, stormed the city A. 
D. 614, sacking the buildings, putting the Christians 
to the sword, and carrying away the true cross, supposed 
to be such. He was met by the emperor Heraclius and 
defeated, and the cross returned and the churches rebuilt, 
and the Jews again forbidden to come within three 
miles. 

At this time commenced the conquests of the followers 
of Mohammed. Omar, the second of the Khalifs, be- 
sieged and took Jerusalem. The Mosque of Omar, now 
existing, dates from the visit of this vicegerent of the 
false prophet. In 1076 it was taken from the Fatimite 
Arabs by the Turks, and then commenced that cruel 
treatment of Christian pilgrims which resulted in the 
Crusades for 200 years, during which time the city was 



JEEUSALEM. 81 

many times taken and retaken, beginning with the first 
capture by the Crusaders (A. D. 1099) from the Fati- 
mite Arabs, who had only eleven months before expelled 
the Turks. On Oct. 2, 1187, it was taken by Saladin. It 
was never again retaken by the Christians by force of 
arms, although entered by Frederic II. of Germany under 
a treaty with the Sultan of Egypt ; but ten,years later it 
fell again into the hands of the Mohammedans. In 1241 
it was by them given up to the Christians, and then three 
years later, it fell after a battle of two days' duration, 
into the possession of a Tartar horde, and by them it 
was lost, and again gained by the Mohammedans in 1247. 
The present walls were built by Solyman the Magnificent 
A. D. 1542. After several further changes it is now 
under the rule of the Sultan at Constantinople. 

Jerusalem is about 2600 feet above the level of the 
Mediterranean, while the Dead Sea is 1316 feet below 
that level. Hence the descent from Jerusalem to the 
plain of the Jordan near Jericho is about 4000 feet. 
The name Jerusalem is used 818 times in the Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments. Lessons : — The les- 
sons are numerous, but chiefly these ; 1. The presence of 
God may change a very unholy into a very holy place. 
Jerusalem was the early residence of the scoffing Jebus- 
ites. 2. There exists no place so holy or pleasant to 
God that sin will not cause him to forsake and leave it 
to utter desolation : the same is true of persons. 3. Every 
person has had, or will have a day of " visitation," when 
Lis eternal fortune may be decided. 4. A people may 
make it impossible, under the circumstances, for even 
Christ to save them, much as he may desire so to do. 



82 JOKNEAM. 

JEZKEEL, jez'-re-ee, what God planted, I. An 
ancient city of the Canaanites which fell to I., but was 
not conquered or possessed by the tribe, Josh. xix. 18. It 
was 50 m. N. a little E. from Jerusalem, near the W. base 
of Mt. Gilboa, on a slight elevation, and commanded the 
view of the plain named after itself, the Plain of Jezreel 
and valley of Jezreel, reaching down to Beth-Shan on the 
E. toward Jordan. It gave its name to the great plain of 
Esdraelon, which name is not found in either the Old or 
New Testaments. This valley became the scene of one of 
the most signal victories, as it was also the scene of one of 
the most signal defeats, in the history of Israel, Judges 
vi. 33 ; 1 Sam. xxix. 1-11 ; xxxi. 1-6. The village is 
now a miserable little hamlet of 12 or 15 houses with a 
broken tower, and yet the view from the place is very 
extensive, especially eastward. The principal historical 
references are, 2 Sam. ii. 9 ; iv. 4 ; 1 Kings iv. 12 ; xviii. 
45, 46 ; 2 Kings ix. 10-16, 30-37 ; x. 1-11 ; Hosea i. 4, 5. 
'' Jezreel" also means " God will scatter," hence allusion 
in last reference. Again, in Hosea i. 11, the original 
meaning is resumed, " Great shall be the day of what God 
shall plant" Lessons : — 1. The blindness and curse of 
covetousness. 2. The snare to which some are exposed 
who, being on the Lord's side, marry those who are not. 

JIPHTHAH-EL, jif'-thah-el, God opens, Z. A 
valley which is mentioned only as forming part of the 
boundary line between Z, and A. It has been identified 
15 m. W. of the Sea of Galilee (see map), Josh. xix. 14, 
27. 

JOKNEAM, joeZ-ne-am, possessed by the people, L Z. 
An ancient royal Canaanitish city at the E. base of Mt. 



joppa. 83 

Carmel, 11 m. inland and 58 m. N. a little W. from 
Jerusalem. It commanded the road from the plain of 
Sharon to that of Esdraelon. It is now only a cluster 
of ruins on a small hill (see map). Josh. xii. 22 ; xix. 
11 ; xxi. 34 ; 1 Kings iv. 12, are all the references. Made 
important only as forming a boundary line and being 
appointed to the priests. 

JOPPA, jop'-pa, beauty. This city formed one of 
the most ancient seaport towns of Palestine. It is 30 
m. N. W. from Jerusalem and immediately upon the 
coast. The first mention of it is under the name Jappho 
in Josh. xix. 46, as defining the boundary of D. Kothing 
more is heard of it till the time when Solomon imported 
cedar wood from Lebanon by way of Joppa to Jerusalem 
for the temple, 2 Chron. ii. 16. From this port Jonah 
embarked for Tarshish, Jonah i. 3. 

Joppa became the great seaport of Palestine, and was 
before our Saviour's time, and afterward, of exceeding 
importance. When Pompey invaded Palestine, Joppa 
was the first place taken, as of most importance before 
attacking Jerusalem. During the Jewish war, 8000 of 
the inhabitants were slaughtered by Cestius the Eoman 
general. It was the landing-place for pilgrims for more 
than a thousand years, from the seventh century to the 
present time. It contains about 5000 inhabitants, and is 
beautifully situated upon a slight elevation above the 
shore. Ezra iii. 7 ; Acts ix. 36, 38, 42, 43 ; x. 5, 8, 23, 32 ; 
xi. 5, 13, with the above, are all the references in the 
Scriptures. Lesson : — 1. The only safe relief from a dis- 
agreeable duty is promptness in its performance. Jonah 
learned this. 2. We may become so prejudiced in opin- 



84 JOKDAK 

ion that a miracle alone will set us right. Peter no doubt 
needed just such a course to correct his prejudices. 

JOKDAN, job/-dan, river of judgment. The sources 
of this river are mainly twofold : (1) The largest foun- 
tain in Syria (as some say), just W. of the cup-formed 
hill at Dan, called by natives Tell el Kady or " hill of 
the Judge." This is 25 m. N. of Sea of Galilee. (2) Just 
E. of this, at Banias, the ancient Cesarea Philippi, is 
another immense fountain forming the other principal 
source. There are other sources, especially at Hasbeiya 
12 m. N. of Dan, but none so celebrated or important. 
Other springs are indicated plainly on the map. Per- 
haps, back of all springs, the snows and " dews" of Her- 
mon are the main sources of all the waters of the Jordan. 
From these springs to the "waters of Merom" are 11 
miles, and from the upper part of the "waters of Merom" 
to the Sea of Galilee are 12 or 13 miles, and from the 
lower part of the sea to the Dead Sea are about 60 miles. 
The course of the Jordan winds so much that its actual 
length is about 200 miles. The first notice of the Jor- 
dan is when Abraham and Lot separate, Gen. xiii. 10 
The second notice is at the passage of the Jordan by the 
Israelites, Joshua iii. The Jordan was twice divided af- 
terward in about the same place, 2 Kings ii. 8, 14. David's 
mighty men crossed the Jordan " in the first month (April), 
when it had overflown all his banks/' 1 Chron. xii. 15. 
The Jordan was crossed by David on a ferry-boat under 
sad circumstances, 2 Sam. xix. 18. Naaman's contempt 
of the Jordan is shown in 2 Kings v. 12. The vessels 
of the temple were cast in the plain of the Jordan near 
Zarthan, 1 Kings vii. 46. Here Elisha performed the 



JUDAH. 85 

miracle upon the borrowed axe, 2 Kings vi. 4, 5. Other 
places of reference are in Jer. 1. 44; Zech. xi. 3; Matt, 
iii. 5, 6, 13 ; iv. 15, 25 ; xix. 1 ; Mark i. 5, 9 ; iii. 8 ; x. 
1 ; Luke iii. 3 ; iv. 1 ; John i. 28 ; iii. 26 ; x. 40. The 
breadth of the Jordan varies from 60 to 100 feet, and the 
plain or valley of Jordan, from 6 m., near the Sea of 
Galilee, to 12 m. near the Dead Sea ; but where it is nar- 
row the torrent is deep and rapid and exceedingly diffi- 
cult to cross, especially in the spring, when it is full. 
Lessons : — These are numerous. 1. Doubtless thousands 
of God's people who were frequently in fear of death, 
have crossed and shall cross the " dark river" with as 
much comfort and peace as did the Israelites the Jordan, 
to the promised land ; 2. Care with that which we have 
borrowed is a duty, and carelessness is dishonesty. 

JUDAH, JOC/-DA, the praise of the Lord. The most 
important part of the territory of Judah, was " the hill- 
country" a district about 12 m. wide, stretching from 
Jerusalem to Juttah and Carmel on the S., cities about 25 
miles distant. Nominally, the territory extended from 
the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean. But Judah was not 
able to cope with the Philistines on the west. The tribe 
numbered more than any other, having 74,600 males, and 
hence its division was the largest. Simeon however ob- 
tained its inheritance out of the district on the S. The 
wilderness of Judah, or Judea, was a barren tract on 
the Dead Sea, averaging about 12 to 15 m. wide. 

The wildernesses of Judah, of Maon, of Engedi and 
of Ziph, were parts of the same general tract W. of the 
Dead Sea and near the N. coast, 1 Sam. xxiii. 14 ; xxiv. 
1 ; Judg. i. 16 ; 1 Sam. xxiii. 24 ; Matt. iii. 1. 



86 KANAH. 

JUDEA, JOO -de 7 - A, praise. This division included Ju- 
dah, Benjamin, Simeon and Dan, in the time of our Saviour. 
But the term was used indefinitely, and sometimes (as 
when Herod was called king of Judea, Luke i. 5) in- 
cluded all Palestine. In the times of Daniel and of Ezra 
it was the name given by foreigners to the whole land. 
But the inhabitants made a distinction between Judea 
and Samaria. In Matt. xix. 1, and in Acts xxviii. 21, it 
is used to indicate any part of the country belonging to, 
and inhabited by, the Jews. Before the time of our 
Saviour's birth, Palestine was divided into Judea, Sama- 
ria and Galilee. Judea was that general district includ- 
ing the tribes above mentioned. Samaria included 
Ephraim and Manasseh, and Galilee was all the district 
indefinitely extended N. See map ; John iv. 3-5 ; Luke v. 
17 ; Matt. iv. 25 ; John iv. 47, 54, &c. ; in these references 
the divisions, as just defined, are recognized. 

JUTTAH, jut / -tah, turning aside, L J. An ancient 
town nearly 5 m. S. of Hebron, on a hill, but with no 
remarkable ruins yet discovered. It is only mentioned 
twice, Josh. xv. 55 ; xxi. 16. 

1. KANAH, (river) ka'-nah, a reed. Perhaps that 
river which forms, the N. boundary of Ephraim (see 
map) and empties into the Mediterranean. Only men- 
tioned in Josh. xvi. 8 ; xvii. 9, as the border line of E, 
& M. The present river is full of reeds. 

2. KANAH, (town). A city of A., on its N. border, 
and which is identical in its site with a little village 
about 5 m. E. by S. from Tyre and upon a ridge. The 
village contains about 300 families, with no ruins. About 



KEILAH. 87 

a m. N. of it are some remarkable ruins. Josh. xix. 28 
(only place). 

KEDESH, ke'-desh, holy, L. N. It was an ancient 
Canaan itish town, made, after the conquest, one of the 
three cities of refuge (Josh. xxi. 32) which were W. of 
the Jordan. Judging from its name, it was, probably, 
one of the holy places of the Canaanites, and the Israel- 
ites, retaining its name, made it also a sanctuary or 
asylum by creating it one of the cities of refuge. It was 
the home of Barak, Judges iv. It was captured and its 
inhabitants were carried away into captivity to Assyria, 
2 Kings xv. 29. The city appears no more in sacred 
history. Though the village is miserable, the site is ex- 
tremely beautiful, being an elevation and surrounded by 
charming scenery. The plain of Zaanaim mentioned in 
Judg. iv. 11, where the Terebinths were, was evidently 
that immediately surrounding this village, Josh. xii. 22 ; 
xix. 37 ; xx. 7 * xxi. 32 ; Judges iv. 6, 9, 10, 11 ; 2 Kings 
xv. 29 ; 1 Chron. vi. 72, 76, are all the places in which 
it is referred to. Lesson : — Same as Golan, which see. 

KEILAH, ky'-lah, a fortress, J. About 4 m. N. W. 
from Hebron is a large ruined tower or castle which 
marks, as is supposed, the ancient site of Keilah, now 
called Kela, standing on a projecting cliff, on the right 
bank of a wady* running toward the country of the 
Philistines. Here David came down from the mountains 
of Judah and defeated the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxiii. 1-5. 
David and his 600 followers settled here until the inhos- 
pitable inhabitants agitated the betrayal of David. He 

* Arabic term for a dry water-course or valley. 



88 KIDKON. 

then departed, 1 Sam. xxiii. 6-13. It was reoccupied 
after the captivity, Neh. iii. 17, 18. See also 1 Chron. 
iv. 19. Illustrates : — The ingratitude of a selfish heart. 
KENATH, ke / -nath, possession. This was a strong 
city of Bashan, in the district of Argob (see map). Numb. 
xxxii. 42 ; 1 Chron. ii. 23, are the only places in which 
it is referred to. It is the same in site as the modern 
Kunawat, 48 m. E. of the Sea of Galilee. The splendid 
ruins cover a space 1 m. long and half a mile wide. It 
is at the foot of the Bashan mountains, and is in a fine 
pasture region. Here a head of an image of the Syrian 
Ashtaroth was discovered. A few families still inhabit 
the ancient houses. Illustrates : — The strength and suc- 
cess of the Israelites. 

1. KEEIOTH, ke'-ri-oth, the cities. This city, near 
the S. border of J. (Josh. xv. 25), is mentioned only 
once for the sake of defining the border. It is a ruin 10 
m. S. of Hebron. See its position on the map. 

2. The site of the second city of this name is 6 m. 
E. of Bozrah at the foot of the mountain range of Bashan, 
50 m. E. of the Jordan. The ruins are three m. in cir- 
cumference. It must have been a large city. What is 
interesting about the houses, which are yet inhabited, is, 
that they are evidently several thousands of years old. 
The roofs are of stone and so are the doors, the latter 
still turning upon their stone hinges. Jer. xlviii. 24, 41 ; 
Amos ii. 2 the only places of reference. Illustrates : — 
The fulfillment of prophecy. 

KIDBON, kid / -ron, turbid, J. This brook ran on the 
E. side of Jerusalem, between the city and Mt. of Olives. 
It is now generally dry in summer and winter, except 



KIEIATHAIM. 89 

when heavy rains fall. The bed has been, and is, culti- 
vated in many places ; hence we read 2 Kings xxiii. 4, of 
the fields of Kidron. A mile and a quarter N. W. of 
Jerusalem is the head of the ravine, or channel, of the 
Kidron, and from that point to En Rogel, which is at the 
junction of the valley of Hinnom and the valley of Kid- 
ron, is 2f miles. This is the historic Kidron ; all below, 
as it runs to the Dead Sea 16 miles, is not alluded to in 
the scriptural name, 2 Sam. xv. 23 ; 1 Kings ii. 37 ; xv. 
13 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 6, 6, 12 ; ,2 Chron. xv. 16 ; xxix. 16 ; 
xxx. 14 ; Jer. xxxi. 40. Illustrates : — 1. The sorrows 
of David. 2. The boldness of idolatry, as the idols were 
planted here in full view of the temple. 

KIEHAEASETH or KIR, ker-har'-a-seth, city of 
the sun, or city of brick, also called Kir-mo ab and Kir. 
This city occupied the site of the present Kerak, 10 m. 
E. of the lower part of the Dead Sea. It was one of the 
chief cities of Moab, and a strongly fortified city builded 
upon the rocks 3000 feet above the Dead Sea. On the 
W. side stands a citadel builded by the Crusaders, and 
surrounded by a moat cut out of the solid rock. Form- 
erly the entrances to the city, of which there were two, 
were tunneled also in the solid rock for one hundred feet, 
2 Kings iii. 25 ; Isaiah xv. 1 ; xvi. 7, 11 ; Jer. xlviii. 31, 
36. Illustrates : — The presence of God with his people 
in their success over the strong. 

KIEIATHAIM, ejr / -i-a-tha / -im, the two cities, R. 
This city was situated 7 m. E. of the Dead Sea, on the 
S. W. slope of Jebel Attarus. It was one of the oldest 
of the Bible cities, and was also called Kirjathaim (Kir- 
jath-a'-im). Numb, xxxii. 37 ; Joshua xiii. 19; Jer. 
8 * 



90 KISHON. 

xlviii. 1, 23 ; Ezek. xxv. 9, are the only scriptural refer- 
ences. It illustrates the fulfillment of prophecy. 

KIKJATH-ABBA, kie/-jath-ae/-ba, the city of 
four. The name of Hebron before its conquest by the 
Israelites, Gen. xxiii. 2 ; xxxv. 27 ; Josh. xiv. 15 ; xv. 
13, 54 ; xx. 7 ; xxi. 11 ; Judges i. 10 ; Neh. xi. 25. 
Lesson : — Same as Hebron. 

KIKJATH-JEAB1M, kir'-jath-je'-a-bim, (called 
also Kirjath-abim, Ezra ii. 25, and only Kibjath, 
Josh, xviii. 28), the city of forests, J. The city whither 
the ark was taken when recovered from the Philistines, 
and where it remained 20 years, till removed to Jerusa- 
lem, 1 Sam. vii. 1, 2; 1 Chron. xiii. 5, 6. It was one 
of the cities of the Gibeonites, Josh. ix. 17. It was 
again inhabited after the captivity, Neh. vii. 29 ; Ezra 
ii. 25. It occupied the site indicated on the map, 5 m. 
N. of W. from Jerusalem. Lesson : — It is not the out- 
ward splendor of the temple which renders it fitted for 
God's presence. The humblest place once held the ark 
and the mercy-seat for twenty years. 

KISHON, ki / -shon, tortuous. This " ancient river " 
drains nearly the whole of the plain of Esdraelon (plains 
of Megiddo and Jezreel), runs near the N. base of Mt. 
Carmel, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Mt. 
Carmel promontory. In the wet season it becomes 
rapidly filled, and from a calm stream becomes a 
raging torrent. Not far N., at the river Belus, were 
taken the sands said to have been used in the first manu- 
facture of glass. The highest S. E. source is at Jenin, 
the ancient En-gannim. When the sudden rains fall, 
the plain frequently becomes almost a marsh, and in some 



LEBANON. 91 

places impassable on horseback, and the Kishon becomes 
very largely swollen in a few hours, Judges iv. 7, 13 ; v. 
21 ; 1 Kings xviii. 40 ; Ps. lxxxiii. 9. In the latter place 
it is spelled Kison. Lesson : — Its associations teach what 
wonderful moral power the service of God imparts to the 
weakest, whether male (see Elijah), or female (see De- 
borah). 

LACHISH, la / -kish, ivho exists of himself, J. An an- 
cient Canaanitish city 22 m. a little N. of W. of Hebron. 
Its king joined others against Joshua w T hen he went up 
to the help of the Gibeonites, Josh. x. 3. Joshua took 
this city at that time, verses 31, 32, and he w^as enabled 
to conquer Eglon and Lachish the same day, as they were 
near each other (see map), 2 Chron. xi. 9 ; Micah i. 13. 
Lesson : — The punishment which awaits those w T ho 
not only sin themselves, but who cause others to sin 
also. 

LAISH, la / -ish, a lion. This was an ancient Phoeni- 
cian city occupied by a colony from Sid on, and situated 
in a fertile valley between Lebanon and Mt. Hermon, at 
the place afterward called Dan, 25 m. N. of the Sea of 
Galilee. The Phoenician remains of ancient castles 
show how powerfully it was defended. Juclg. xviii. 7, 
14, 27, 29 ; Isa. x. 30, are all the references to it. See 
Dax. Lesson : — Strangers to God never know from what 
distant and unexpected sources their final overthrow may 
be derived. 

LEBANON, leb'-a-non, white. This name was gen- 
erally applied to both of those ranges of mountains on 
the north of the Holy Land, beginning about Mt. Her- 



92 LEBANON. 

mon and branching out and running northward for about 
50 miles. The valley between was called Coele (" hol- 
low") Syria. The two ranges are distinguished — once in 
Scripture, in Joshua xiii. 5, where the Anti-Lebanon 
range is called " Lebanon toward the sun-rising." The 
highest peaks are on the Lebanon or W. range, just above 
the little grove called " the Cedars." There the peaks 
are 10,051 feet above the sea according to some, but this 
range (the western or Lebanon) gradually decreases in 
height till opposite Mt. Hermon, when the range is 
divided by the river Leontes at right angles and evi- 
dently by some singular and violent convulsion, so that 
the river is nearly 1000 feet below the surface of the 
mountain range, and yet in some places not 100 feet from 
bank to bank. This range (the western one) then ap- 
pears to continue decreasing and widening until it disap- 
pears among the hills of Galilee E. of Accho ; in entire 
length it is over 100 m., and in breadth about 20 ; " his 
roots," Hosea xiv. 5. The ranges were always, as they 
are now, distinguished for the number and sweetness of 
their fountains, fed by the constant snows of the summits. 
Hence such passages as Solomon's Song iv. 15 ; Jer. xviii. 
14. The first mention is in Deut. i. 7 ; iii. 25 ; xi. 24. 1 
Kings v. 9-11 ; Ezek. xxvii. 5, show that the forests were 
under the authority of King Hiram and he furnished wood 
for the temple. " The whole range at present is under the 
authority of the Pasha of Damascus." The perfume, 
called (Hosea xiv. 6) " his smell," of the vines upon the 
mountain-side, in the flowering season, may be perceived 
at times at more than 30 miles off. Lebanon illustrates 
the firmness of God's promises ; the diffusive influence of 



LUZ. 93 

a holy life, and the reviving power of full faith in God 
(see Hosea xiv. 7). 

LEBONAH, le-bo'-n ah, frankincense, E. This place 
is mentioned only once, Judges xxi. 19, and yet it ap- 
pears to have been an important place judging from the 
caves surrounding its present site near a little fertile plain. 
It is, however, a small place at present, and 2 m. W. by 
N. of Shiloh and 17 m. N. of Jerusalem. 

LESHEM, ee'-shem, same as Laish, Josh. xix. 47. 

LOD, lod, strife, D. Same as Lydda, and now called 
Ludd. It is a village in the plain of Sharon 20 m. N. 
W. from Jerusalem and 10 m. from the coast of the 
Mediterranean. We read in 1 Chron. viii. 12, that 
Shamed, a Benjamite, built it; perhaps it was rebuilt, as 
other Canaanitish towns had been, upon the site of the 
former town. It was occupied after the captivity, Ezra 
ii. 33 ; Neh. vii. 37. The most interesting fact connected 
with it is related in Acts ix. 32-35. See the only re- 
maining reference in Neh. xi. 35. It was from the pri- 
vacy of Peter's stay at this place that he was suddenly 
called to restore Tabitha. Lesson : — We are all immor- 
tal until our work is done. 

LUZ, euz, almond tree. This seems to have been very 
near to Bethel and on the W. of it. Probably when 
Jacob came there he slept near this city and builded his 
altar on a hill to the E., which hill afterward became 
settled, and the settlement grew till it became a suburb 
to Luz, and Bethel and Luz became one and the same in 
name, and in course of time the name Bethel entirely 
outlived the general use of the name Luz. But the 
names were once in after times applied to two distinct 



94 MACH-PELAH. 

places, perhaps suburbs, Josh. xvi. 1, 2. The other re- 
ferences are in Gen. xxviii. 19 ; xxxv. 6 ; xlviii. 3 ; Josh, 
xviii. 13 ; Judges i. 23, 26. Lesson : — Proximity to the 
heathen Luz did not prevent Jacob from building an 
altar to God at Bethel. We may live in the world and 
yet not allow the world to live in us. 
LYDDA. See Lod, Acts ix. 32, 35, 38. 

MACH-PELAH, mak-pe / -lah, double. This is the 
name of the cave which Abraham bought of the children 
of Heth, Gen. xxiii. It is indicated on the map on the 
E. side of Hebron a little up the W. side of the long 
hill seen at that spot, and which forms one of two ridges 
between which .Hebron is builded. This cave is the 
most interesting spot, in one sense, of all other places in 
the Holy Land, for there many believe, with good reason, 
that the remains of the bodies of some of the patriarchs 
and their wives will yet be found, because of the care 
with which the bodies were embalmed. See Gen. 1. 2- 
14. The cave was probably double and gave name to the 
immediate district or field around. There is at present 
an extremely ancient building around and over the cave. 
This building, which appears to have been erected in the 
time, or soon after the time, of Solomon, is about 200 
feet long by 115 wide and 50 feet high and is of the most 
solid material and masonry. It was very ancient in the 
time of Josephus and of our Saviour. In it are the 
tombs or monuments of Abraham and Sarah, of Jacob 
and Leah, of Isaac and Eebekah and of Joseph. There 
are evidences that the original cave is under this build- 
ing and beneath the rock upon which these monuments 



MAGDALA. 95 

or tombs rest. By examining the map the position of the 
cave is apparent. Gen. xxv. 9 ; xlix. 30, in addition to 
the above comprise all the references. Lessons : — 1. The 
care of Abraham in refusing the gift of Mach-pelah, sug- 
gests the care which should be had, not to put God's 
people under obligation to the worldly, in secular matters, 
not even for a tomb. 2. Generosity of heart and liber- 
ality of disposition are perfectly consistent even with the 
character of a pagan. Witness Ephron, Gen. xxiii. 11. 
Hence not the proof of a Christian man. 3. Although 
the whole land was promised to Abraham and his seed, 
his first possession was this tomb, and here, rather than 
in his native land, he preferred a burial-place for him- 
self and family, showing that a true living faith will cer- 
tainly be a dying faith. 4. The nature of our regard for 
our friends will generally exhibit itself by the methods 
we adopt to commemorate our love. Not the most 
beautiful tombs are evidences of the purest or most last- 
ing love. The children of those who slew the prophets 
were satisfied with garnishing their sepulchres while they 
hated their prophecies. 

MAGDALA, mag'-da-la, tower. This was a little 
village, perhaps a short distance N. of the Dalmanutha 
of Mark viii. 10, whose site is not known. It was located 
on the W. shore of the Sea of Galilee, 3 m. N. of Tiberias 
and just S. of the plain of Gennesaret. The site is beau- 
tiful, commanding a view of the lake, though at present 
the village is a miserable little settlement of 15 or 20 
dirty cabins. It is rendered famous by being the home 
of Mary Magdalene, the word Magdalene signifying " of 
Magdala," Mentioned only once, Matt. xv. 39. Les> 



96 MAHANAIM. 

son : — One woman, honoring Jesus, in her feebleness / 
may do more honor to a town than all the others in their 
strength. 

MAHANAIM, ma'-ha-na'-im, the host or camp, L. G. 
This was where the angels met Jacob, and because of 
which he called the place by this name, " the host or 
camp of angels" being the intended signification of the 
word, which has a plural or double sense. Perhaps two 
angels met him and warned him, and therefore he sent to 
his brother Esau immediately. These messengers went 
to the land of Seir, the country of Edom, Gen. xxxii. 3 
(fully 100 m. S.) and back. Speeding upon their way, it 
may be supposed that they travelled 50 m. a day, or 
more. During their absence, of four or five days, Jacob 
proceeded on his journey, as usual, from Mahanaim, and 
as the company could travel but slowly, perhaps 5 or 6 
miles daily, over the rugged and hilly country around 
Gilead (see the reason Gen. xxxiii. 13), it is probable 
that they travelled before the return of the messengers 
some 25 or 30 miles to the Jabbok and the unknown 
place called Peniel. All the circumstances taken into 
consideration lead us to suppose that the little village 
called Mahneh is the site of Mahanaim, which, although 
no town at the time Jacob named it, became a fortified 
and prosperous city in after years. Here David fled 
from Absalom, 2 Sam. xvii. 24, 27, and here he mourned 
over his death. Solomon made it one of the cities from 
which provisions were furnished for his table, 1 Kings iv. 
14. It is 24 m. S. E. from Sea of Galilee, just at the be- 
ginning of the general range of Mt. Gilead and group of 
mountains which extends over the country to the S. W. 



MANASSEH. 97 

First notice is in Gen. xxxii. 2 ; Josh. xiii. 26, 30 ; xxi. 
38 ; 2 Sam. ii. 8, 12, 29 ; xix. 32 ; 1 Kings ii. 8 ; 1 Chron. 
vi. 80. The name occurs 13 times. The origin of this 
place was due to the wonderful condescension of God to 
his servant Jacob, therefore the Lesson : — Psalms xxxiv. 
7 ; Heb. i. 14. 

MAMRE, mam / -re, fruitfulness. This plain was 
probably once covered by a grove near and in sight of 
ihe cave of Mach-pelah : the word translated " plain" 
means also "grove." The exact location is not known, 
but it was near the cave or opposite to it, Gen. xiii. 18 ; 
xviii. 1 ; xxiii. 17, 19 ; xxv. 9 ; xxxv. 27 ; xlix. 30 ; 1. 13. 
It gave its own name to the place called also Hebron. 
Lesson : — This place comes into notice as the consequence 
of the nobleness of character on the part of Abraham in 
yielding rather than striving with Lot ; see Gen. xiii. It 
was. after this generous sacrifice of his rights to peace 
and quietness that God communicated to him that mag- 
nificent gift, Gen. xiii. 14, 15, 16, 17, teaching us Prov. 
xi. 24 ; 2 Tim. ii. 24. 

MANASSEH, ma-nas'-seh, one who forgets. This 
tribe, on leaving Egypt, was the smallest of the tribes, 
having only 32,200 adult males, Numb. i. 34, but it in- 
creased rapidly before entering the promised land to 
52,700, and became the sixth in rank of numbers, Numb. 
xxvi. 34. This was because, probably, of the fact that 
they were hardy shepherds, while many of the other tribes 
lived in cities and were not accustomed to the desert-life. 
In the division of land M. had two territories, per- 
haps divided according to the temperament of the two 
divisions, the people remaining W. being agricultural, 



98 MAEESHAH. 

and of quiet disposition, and those going E. being shep- 
herds and warlike, as seems true from Josh. xiii. 30 ; xvii. 
1 ; Deut. iii. 14. It is probable that a much larger part 
E. of Jordan than that marked out on the map was trib- 
utary to M., for he conquered it even to Argob, Deut. iii. 
13, but the part marked in color on the map was em- 
phatically the division of the tribe ; the lines, however, 
cannot be definitely settled on the E. On the W. of 
Jordan the territory of Manasseh ran from the Mediter- 
ranean to the Jordan, as seems plain from Josephus 
(Antiquities v. 1, 22). On the N. was Issachar and on the 
S. Ephraim and Benjamin. The tribe seems never to 
have been very prominent after the division, and are 
often grouped with Ephraim which was more influential. 
See Numb, xxxii. 39 ; xxxiv. 14 ; Deut. iii. 14; Josh. xii. 
6 ; xiii. 7 ; 1 Chron. vi. 62 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 1 ; xxxiv. 6, 
9. The W. division is referred to in Josh. xvi. 9 ; xvii. 
7-12 ; Judg. i. 27. Lesson : — The solemn forecast of the 
coming events which a true man of God may have ; see 
how truly this is illustrated in Gen. xlviii. 17-20. 

MAON, ma'-on, a house, J. David hid himself near 
this place in the wilderness of this name. Here the 
churlish Nabal had great possessions, 1 Sam. xxiii. 24, 
25 ; xxv. 2. It was situated on a hill about 200 feet high, 
and the ruins on such a hill, of the same name, 7 m. S. 
a little E. of Hebron, point out the ancient site, Josh, 
xv. 55. Lesson : — The case of Nabal repeats the les- 
son which we learn in Prov. xi. 24. 

MAEESHAH, ma-re'-shah, an inheritance, J. This 
city was 12 m. a little N. of W. from Hebron, on a little 
hill. There are nothing but ruins there now. It was 



MEGIDDO. 99 

fortified by Kehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 8. The battle (2 
Chron. xiv. 9-13) took place in the valley near to the N. 
E. It was a city of importance just before the Christian 
era, and was destroyed about the time of our Saviour's 
birth and never rebuilt (Josephus Antiq., xiv. 5, 3).. 
Name occurs 6 times, Josh. xv. 44 ; 2 Chron. xx. 37 ; 
Micah i. 15. Lesson : — " It is nothing with the Lord 
to help, whether with many, or with them that have no 
power," 2 Chron. xiv. 11. 

MEDEBA, med'-e-ba, water of rest. Its ruins, one 
mile and a half in circumference, are about 4 m. S. E. 
of Heshbon and 15 m. E. of the Dead Sea, on a little 
hill in the great plain. It was probably a very strong 
city in the district of R., but never conquered by the tribe. 
Numb. xxi. 30 ; Josh. xiii. 9, 16 ; 1 Chron. xix. 7 ; Isa. 
xv. 2. Illustrates : — 1. The sad mistake which we may 
make in our over anxiety to resent an insult, 1 Chron. 
xix. 2. Jealousy and envy may readily imagine an in- 
sult when nothing of the kind, but even a compliment, is 
intended. 

MEGIDDO, me-gid'-do, " that declares," M. A city 
about 11 m. S. W. of Nazareth. This city is memorable 
chiefly on account of the battles fought in its vicinity. 
The great plain of Esdraelon, also called the " valley of 
Megiddo," and the "plain of Jezreel," was the battle- 
ground of Palestine. The first battle, the victory of 
Barak, is given Judges iv., v. Another great battle, but 
a disastrous one to Israel, is mentioned 2 Kings xxiii. 
29 ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 22. The first mention of the name 
is in Josh. xii. 21, afterward in xvii. 11 ; Judges i. 27 ; 
v. 19; 1 Kings iv. 12; ix. 15; 2 Kings ix.' 27. The 



ICO MIZPAH. 

waters (or spring) of Megiddo were at the nearest spring 
indicated on the map. The rutins are upon both banks 
of a ravine running down from Mt. Carmel ; here also, 
amid more ancient remains, are those of a khan. Les- 
son : — They who are found in evil company, though 
guiltless of the exact crimes for which others suffer, 
must expect to suffer for their crimes. Ahaziah died 
here a miserable death, though not guilty of the crime 
of Joram, with whom he was punished ; see history, 
2 Kings ix. 

MEEOM, me'-rom, the elevations, N. The waters of 
Merom were 12 m. N. of Lake Tiberias. Joshua xi. 5, 
7, mentioned only here. It was a celebrated battle-ground, 
as indicated on the map. Lesson : — God's promise to 
help does not exempt us from helping ourselves. 

MICHMASH, mik'-mash, he that strikes, B. The 
site of Michmash is upon a slope on the N. side of the 
valley Su-wei'-nit (see map), 5 m. a little E. of N. from 
Jerusalem, and it commands the great pass from the Jor- 
dan. Not far below in the valley are the two rocks, 
Seneh and Bozez, made famous for the exploit of Jona- 
than and his companion, 1 Sam. xiv. 4, 5. The valley 
is steep and rugged. The first' reference is, 1 Sam. xiii. 
2, 5, 11, 16, 23, and again xiv. 5, 31 ; Neh. xi. 31 ; Isa. 
x. 28. Michmas is the same place, Ezra ii. 27 ; Neh. 
vii. 31. Lesson : — God can, and sometimes will, save 
by the few rather than by the many, when those few 
give him all the credit. Witness Jonathan's conversa- 
tion with his armor-bearer. 

1. MIZPAH, miz / -pah, watch-tower. This was a 
noted gathering-place of the tribes, about 3 m. N. W. 



MIZPEH. 101 

of Jerusalem, and situated upon a hill rising about 600 
feet above the plain of Gibeon. There is, upon the top, 
a little village, and a tomb called the tomb of Samuel. 
It was formerly a church, probably builded by the Cru- 
saders. It seems to have been considered a holy place' 
by the Jews after the destruction of the temple, Jer. xli. 
5, 6. As there are six Mizpahs in Scripture, only two 
of which have been identified, all the references to this 
Mizpah (or Mizpeh, which is the same) are given as fol- 
lows : Josh, xviii. 26 ; Judges xx. 1, 3 ; xxi. 1, 5, 8 ; 1 
Sam. vii. 5, 6, 6, 7, 11, 12, 16 ; x. 17 ; 1 Kings xv. 22; 2 
Kings xxv. 23, 25 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 6 ; Neh. iii. 7, 15, 19 ; 
Jer. xl. 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15 ; xli. 1, 1, 3, 6, 10, 10, 14, 16. 
Lessons: — 1. The responsibility sometimes incurred by a 
people who decline to punish sin in the nation. 2. God 
shows that he honors the gathering of his people to the 
place where prayer is wont to be made ; though the peo- 
ple repented they were not blessed until they assembled 
at Mizpah, 1 Sam. vii. 5. 

2. MIZPEH OF GILEAD (or mizpah, or eamath 
mizpeh). This was on the top of Mt. Gilead, where the 
tomb of Hosea is said to be, hence called, Jebel-Osh'a, 
the Arabic for Hosea. There is a fine broad plateau on 
the top, indicated correctly on the map. Here the 
Israelites assembled to oppose the Ammonites, Judg. x. 
17. Here Jephthah was met by his daughter after his 
rash vow and his great victory. Josh. xiii. 26 ; Judg. xi. 
11, 29, 34 ; Hosea v. 1, are all the references. All other 
references relate to other places not known. Lesson: — 
The natural inconsiderateness of those who seek their 
own pleasure and aggrandizement. Jephthah desired not 
9* 



102 MOKIAH. 

so much the honor proceeding from God as that proceed- 
ing from men. He would, however, suffer rather than 
break his vow. 

MOLADAH, moiZ-a-dah, birth. A town about 17 
m. a little W. of S. from Hebron. There are only ruins 
and two wells which attract the Bedouins of the desert. 
Josh. xv. 26 ; xix. 2 ; 1 Chron. iv. 28 ; Neh. xi. 26, only 
four references. Of no particular importance. 

1. MOKEH, mo'-reh, a teacher. There was a plain 
of Moreh just E. of Shechern, and the one spoken of 
when Abraham first visited the land of Canaan, Gen. 
xii. 6. It is spoken of only once more, Deut. xi. 
30. This is the plain indicated on the map imme- 
diately E. of Shechem, 27 m. N. of Jerusalem. Here 
the first altar to God in Palestine was builded. Lesson : — 
A true servant of God will build his altar to the Lord in 
whatever land he journeys. He will not leave his relig- 
ion at home, or be a Christian at home and sinner 
abroad. 

2. MOEEH, HILL OF. This was the little range 
next on the N. of the mountains of Gilboa. It has been 
called Little Hermon, but there is no doubt that all this 
range was the hill of Moreh spoken of but once in Judg. 
vii. 1. It rises, as Symonds supposes, 1839 feet above the 
Mediterranean. It was on the S. flanks and near the 
base of this range that the Midianites were spread out on 
the night of Gideon's attack. Lesson : — There is no 
limit to the victories God grants to his humbly courage- 
ous servants. 

MORI AH, mory'-ah, fear of the Lord. This was 
the name of the land where Abraham offered Isaac, and 



NAIN. 103 

the name of the mount whereupon the temple of Jerusa- 
lem stood, and where now the Mosque of Omar stands. 
The attempt has been made to disprove the identity of Mt. 
Moriah with each of these places, but without success. 
Mt. Moriah is the hill adjoining Mt. Zion on the E. (see 
position on the map), Gen. xxii. 2 ; 2 Chron. iii. 1. It must 
be remembered, however, that there is no assertion in 
Scripture that Abraham offered Isaac on Mt. Moriah, but 
in the land of Moriah : the tradition, however, and the 
typical association, together with the fact that the temple 
was builded here, see 2 Chron. iii. 1, seem to point out 
the probability so strongly that it amounts to almost a 
certainty that the offering took place at the very spot 
where now the Mosque of Omar stands, and where, pro- 
bably, the Holy of Holies stood before. The writer pos- 
sesses a model of the rock under the dome, which is a 
natural and untouched rock, and which has ever re- 
mained uncut. The traditional sacredness of this rock 
seems to have been the only reason why neither David 
nor Solomon disturbed it. It is certainly singular that, 
on Mt. Moriah, this rough table-rock, during all the 
splendid buildings and alterations of many centuries, 
should ever have remained the same, undisturbed and 
uncut. The name occurs but twice and only in the pas- 
sages above enumerated. Lesson : — It is with the 
thoughts and intents of the heart God deals. Abraham's 
intent was to God the same as the actual offering. 

NAIN, na'-in, beauty, I. A little town on the north- 
ern base of the hill of Moreh. It is now a little vil- 
lage facing Tabor and 4 m. distant, and two and half m. 



104 NAPHTALL 

S. W. of Endor. It is a poor place in its buildings, but 
most beautifully situated, commanding a magnificent 
landscape, hence perhaps its name. Just E. of the vil- 
lage are ancient tombs, to one of which, perhaps, the 
widow's son was being removed when our Saviour met 
the funeral and restored the dead. Only mentioned in 
Luke vii. 11. Lesson : — There are many who never will 
hear of Christ except at the funerals of their friends ; 
therefore should speakers and preachers be faithful. 
Many a one has lost a chance for good on these occa- 
sions. 

NAPHTALI, naf'-ta-ly, my wrestling. The name 
of this tribe may be understood by reading, Gen. xxx. 8. 
At the Exodus this tribe numbered 53,400 adult males, 
Numb. i. 43, but they afterward decreased to 45,500 on 
arrival at Jordan, Numb. xxvi. 50. 

The possessions allotted to N. are described in Josh, 
xix. 32-39. The district was bounded E. by the upper 
Jordan, the waters of Merom and the Sea of Galilee in 
part ; on the S. by Z., on the W. by A. N. was the first 
tribe captured by the Assyrians, 2 Kings xv. 29. N. en- 
joyed the privilege, allotted to others, of sharing, in 
common with Z., on the south some parts of its territory, 
perhaps some of the fenced cities which were in that 
tribe, for the land of Z. reached from the Sea of Galilee 
to the "Great Sea." Hence it was said of Z. (Deut. 
xxxiii. 19), " They shall suck of the seas." See Zebulun. 
Thus it is also said that Capernaum was in the border 
of N. and Z., Luke iv. 31 ; Matt, iv. 15, 16. Naphtali is 
now almost a barren district, compared with what it was 
formerlv. 



NEBO. 105 

NAZAKETH, naz'-a-reth, separated. This city is 
60 m. a little E. of N. from Jerusalem. It is situated in a 
little basin amid the hills of Galilee. It now contains 
about 4000 inhabitants and a Latin convent wherein are 
shown several places said to be associated with our 
Saviour's early life. At the entrance of the town is the 
fountain, which doubtless our Saviour, when a boy, fre- 
quently visited, as it is the only fountain, and the great 
fountain of the town, and has been such for ages. Naza- 
reth has never been lost sight of since the days of our 
Saviour, and the name is still retained. The history may 
be learned from the following : Matt. ii. 23 ; iv. 13 ; Mark 
i. 9 ; x. 47 ; Luke i. 26, 27 ; ii. 4, 39, 51 ; iv. 16, 34 ; John 
i. 46. The hill to which our Saviour was led was probably 
that one immediately N. of the city, and represented in 
the map, and on the base of which the city is partly 
built. Lesson : — "A prophet is not without honor save 
in his own country." Familiarity with holy things, in an 
unholy heart, tends to produce contempt. 

NEBO, ne'-bo, he that prophecies. As God buried 
Moses and "no man knoweth his sepulchre," so there 
seems to be a mystery connected even with the moun- 
tain itself where the burial took place. 

The writer, with others, has cast many a look along 
the line of the great range of Abarim, running parallel 
with the Dead Sea in its whole length, for some high and 
prominent mountain, but, with the exception of perhaps 
one slightly prominent point, there is none that would 
seem to be just what so solemn a burial, preceded by so 
wonderful a vision, should call for. Perhaps Mt. Nebo 
was an elevation upon the plateau of Abarim, and Pis- 



106 NIMKAH. 

gah a certain point or peak. It seems definite, but yet 
no one has ever been able to settle the place, and the 
solemnity of the act, as described in the last chapter of 
Deuteronomy, seems to intimate that it never was in- 
tended to be known. Perhaps the place indicated on the 
map is the nearest to any solution of the difficulty, and 
may have been near the spot. It was supposed to be 
the very mountain in the times of the early Church. It 
is 7 m. S. W. from Heshbon and the same distance E. of 
the Dead Sea, Numb, xxxiii. 47 ; Deut. xxxii. 49 ; xxxiv. 
1. Lesson : — There is something more solemn about the 
nature of sin than has yet been explained in the wisest 
of human theologies. Nebo and Pisgah are God's tokens 
of that displeasure with sin which he has not yet revealed. 

NETOPHAH, ne-to'-fah, a dropping, J. One of 
the villages inhabited after the captivity, 13 m. S. W. 
from Jerusalem. It is now a large village on the brow 
of the valley of Elah, called by a modern name bearing 
a resemblance to the ancient name, Ezra ii. 22 ; Neh. vii. 
26. Lesson : — The punishment of sin in a nation may 
bring sorrow to the smallest and weakest of its parts. 

NEZIB, ne'-zib, standing place, J. A village between 
the hill country and the low lands of Judah, 17 m. S. W. 
of Jerusalem. There are ruins and a massive tower 60 
feet square. It is only mentioned in Josh. xv. 43. Of 
no note. 

NIMEAH, him'-eah, pure water. A city 3 m. E. of 
the Jordan and 10 m. N. of the Dead Sea. The ruins 
are now desolate, but near them are copious springs and 
marshy grounds. These are the waters upon whicli 
Isaiah pronounced the curse (under the spelling of Nim- 



OLIVES. 107 

rim) Isaiah xv. 6 ; Jer. xlviii. 34 ; Numb, xxxii. 3. Il- 
lustrates : — The fulfillment of prophecy. 

NOB, nob, prophecy, B. This place is found, as is 
supposed, 1 m. or a little further N. E. of Jerusalem. 
Mt. Zion can be seen from it. Here dwelt Ahimeleclr 
the priest, whom David visited alone and privately, 1 
Sam. xxi. 1, and yet he was seen by Doeg, xxii. 9, 11, 
19 ; Neh. xi. 32 ; Isaiah x. 32. Lesson : — There are times 
when mercy is better than sacrifice. It is the heart and 
not the form which is essential, Matt. xii. 3-9. Doeg 
was a worshipper while David ate the shewbread. Doeg 
was an enemy in heart while observing the forms. Da- 
vid loyal to God while omitting them. See the histories. 

OLIVES, oiZ-ives, (Mount of), also Olivet. This 
is a ridge separated from Jerusalem by the Kidron. It 
obtained its name from the olives which grew more pro- 
fusely then than now upon its sides. The phrase " Mount 
of Olives" occurs once only in the Old Testament, in Zech. 
xiv. 4, but it is referred to five times beside, namely, in 
2 Sam. xv. 30 ; 1 Kings xi. 7 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 13 ; Neh. 
viii. 15 ; Ezekiel xi. 23. In the New Testament, Matt. 
xxi. 1 ; xxiv. 3 ; xxvi. 30 ; Mark xi. 1 ; Luke xix. 37 ; 
John viii. 1; Acts i. 12 (Olivet). The highest point at 
the middle of the three peaks or knobs of the Mt. of 
Olives is said to be 2724 feet above the Mediterranean 
Sea, while Mount Moriah is 2429, making the Mt. of 
Olives 295, or about 300 feet above the foundation of the 
Mosque of Omar. The writer was enabled to sketch 
several objects on the ground between the mosque and 
the E. wall of the enclosure by ascending the flanks of 



108 OPHEAH. 

Olivet and yet not quite to the top ; and hence we can 
appreciate the extent and beauty of the view which our 
Saviour and those with him had of the city when, coming 
from Bethany and on the descent of the mount, he be- 
held the city and wept over it, Luke xix. 41. Also the 
appropriateness of the questions concerning the building 
of the temple when the disciples sat upon the Mount of 
Olives, Mark xiii. 3. Lesson : — If we knew the future 
of many who now appear so prosperous and strong, we 
might rather weep than rejoice. Conversely, we might, 
with the same knowledge of the future, rejoice and be 
amazed at what God has in store for some who are now 
neglected and despised. All that glitters to-day is not 
the gold of the future. 

OPHEL, o / -fel, tower. This was the elongation 
southward of the hill upon which the temple was builded. 
See the map. 2 Chron. xxvii. 3 ; xxxiii. 14 ; Neh. iii. 
26, 27 ; xi. 21. 

OPHEAH, off'-rah, dust. A town 9 m. K by E. 
from Jerusalem, and, as it is supposed, afterward called 
Ephraim (the two names being almost alike in the 
Hebrew), visited by our Saviour, John xi. 54. A little 
village at present on a commanding site, with ruins, 
which seem to be the site of the ancient place, is desig- 
nated on the map, and is situated as above described (see 
the map). Josh, xviii. 23; 1 Sam. xiii. 17, are the only 
references to this Ophrah. It was due only to the bit- 
terness, against Christ, of the chief priests and Pharisees 
that Ephraim saw Jesus. Lesson : — God sometimes 
works great and lasting blessings to many by the sor- 
rows and persecutions of those who honor Christ and 



PHAEPAE. 109 

follow him, so that we may hereafter see a new use of 
every persecution which has ever been endured. 

PALESTINA and PALESTINE, pal-es-ty'-na 
and paiAes-tyne. The word occurs only in three pas^ 
sages : Exod. xv. 14 ; Isaiah xiv. 29, 31, and Joel iii. 4. 
In each of these it is evidently used to designate the 
country of the Philistines, Israel's ancient enemies. The 
present use of the name, which is intended to compre- 
hend all the Holy Land, the ancient Canaan, has been 
introduced only in more modern times, but was not com- 
mon in the scriptural times. This is made plain by ex- 
amining the above and only references. See Philis- 
tines. In Ps. lxxxiii. 7, "Philistines" signifies the 
same, namely, the land. This land extended from Joppa 
to Gerar on the coast, and inland nearly so far as the 
foot of the hills of Judah, being about 10 m. on the N. 
and 20 m. on the S. It was generally a plain country. 

PAS-DAMMIM, pas-dam'-mim, the hand of astonish- 
ment. This town is mentioned but once, 1 Chron. xi. 13 ; 
and in 1 Sam. xvii. 1 as Ephes-dammim, which is pro- 
bably a variation of the same name. It has been identi- 
fied, with some degree of probability, with a ruin in the 
valley of Elah eleven m. S.-W. from Jerusalem. The 
place is sufficiently defined on the map. • Illustrates : — 
The success God grants those who put their trust in him. 
It is associated with two remarkable victories of David. 

PHAEPAE, faf/-par, that produces fruit. This 
river, in the region of Damascus, runs from the E. base 
of Mt. Hermon, eastward to a distance of 10 m. S. of 
Damascus, and empties into a marshy lake about 16 m 
10 



HO PHENICE. 

S. E. of the city. It is about one-fourth the size of the 
Abana, but is of exceeding importance to the fertility of 
the region around, as the Abana is to that about Damas- 
cus. These two rivers are the largest in the district; 
hence they are supposed to represent the two spoken of 
only in 2 Kings v. 12. See Abana for the Lesson. 

PHENICE, PHENICIA, fe-ny'-se, fe-nish'-e-a, 
the palm. This country stretched along the coast on the 
N., as Philistia did upon the S., of the Holy Land. It 
was a strip, in width eastward, reaching to the Lebanon 
mountains and upon them, as Hiram evidently had pos- 
session of the cedars of Lebanon, and stretching from 
Syria on the N. to Judea on the S., but varying at differ- 
ent periods, so that no exact limits can be put to the ter- 
ritory. Thus while in Gen. x. 19, Sidon seems to be the 
limit northward, as also seen in Josh. xiii. 4, 5, 6, it 
nevertheless in the times of our Saviour extended 
seventy-five miles north of Sidon to the coast-island 
Aradus. But while this, only, was the extent of Phenicia 
proper, its conquests in other parts of the world made 
it one of the wealthiest and the most influential nations 
of antiquity. It furnished the purple dye to which all 
the kings and monarchs, at one time, owed the beauty 
of their royal garments. On its shores, near Accho (see 
Kishon), at the mouth of the Belus (see map), were the 
first sands used for glass-making. We owe much to the 
early language and literature of this people : although 
comparatively little is known of their language or litera- 
ture in itself, yet "no language of antiquity was so 
widely spread, the whole ancient world, almost, being 
the vantage-ground of Phenician enterprise." It was, 



PHILISTINES. Ill 

however, very much alike to the language of the Israel- 
ites, namely, the Hebrew. The history of the Pheni- 
cians begins far back, perhaps 1500 B. C, about which 
time Sidon was builded. In the beginning of the thir- 
teenth century B. C. Tyre was founded, and about 1209, 
Sidon having been defeated by the king of Askelon, 
Tyre became the great city and Phenicia rose to its 
greatest influence and power. 

The coast, generally, was alluded to under the names 
at the head of this article, in Acts xi. 19 ; xv. 3 ; xxi. 2, 
but the name in Acts xxvii. 12 is that of a port in the 
island of Crete (Kreet, not Kree'-te), in the bay of 
Lutro, where there is a remarkably safe harbor. 

PHILISTIA, fil-is'-te-a. The country of the Phil- 
istines. It is the same as Palestina, and used in the same 
sense, which see under that name. Ps. lx. 8 ; lxxxvii. 4; 
cviii. 9. 

PHILISTINES, fil-is'-tins. These people occu- 
pied the coast on the S. W. of the Holy Land, from 
around Joppa on the N. to below Gaza and about Gerar 
on the S., and inland to where the mountain began. At 
the northern end their country was about ten miles wide 
and in the S. about twenty. This country is called in 
Scripture the low country or the vale, Deut. i. 7 ; Josh. 
ix. 1 ; x. 40. It was divided by low water-courses, dry 
in summer and generally filled in winter. It is highly 
probable that the country in which they lived had much 
to do in modifying the character of this people, and per- 
haps in rendering it exceedingly difficult to trace their 
origin or form any correct idea of their relations to other 
nations. In Gen. x. 13, 14 ; Amos ix. 7 ; Deut. ii. 23, 



112 EABBATH. 

they are traced from the Casluhim and Caphtor, the lat- 
ter being probably the maritime city or island and the 
former the people. See Jer. xlvii. 4. They may have 
been originally Egyptians, nevertheless, and their appear- 
ance, as represented on Egyptian monuments, is very sim- 
ilar to Egyptians in many respects. They were a bold, 
hardy and ingenious people, and very similar to the 
Phenicians in their knowledge of the arts. Hence they 
were very efficient enemies to the Israelites, Josh. xv. 
45-47; xiii. 2, 3; 2 Chron. xxi. 16; 1 Sam. xiii. 21. 
From the latter passage, it appears singular that the 
Jews should, for so many years, have remained subject 
to the Philistines in so simple an art as that alluded to. 
At the same time we see the superior advancement of 
arts among the Philistines when compared with the Jews. 
In after times, however, the Jewish nation seemed to have 
surpassed all around them in the splendor of their build- 
ings and arts, but not until the reign of Solomon. They 
are mentioned 310 times, including the title of Ps. IvL, 
and one time when it signifies the land. See Philistia. 

PISGAH, piz / -gah, eminence. See Nebo. Numb. 
xxi. 20 ; xxiii. 14 ; Deut. iii. 17 ; iv. 49 ; xxxiv. 1 ; Josh, 
xii. 3 ; xiii. 20, are all the references. Lesson : — Same 
as Nebo. 

PTOLEMAIS, tol-e-ma'-is. See Accho. 

EABBATH or KABBAH, rab'-bath or rab'-bah, 

metropolis. This city was a powerful city of the Ammon- 
ites E. of the Jordan, 16 m. S. E. of Mt. Gilead and 
45 m. a little N. of E. from Jerusalem. The ruins stand 
in a long valley (as seen in the map), through which a 



KAMAH. 113 

stream passes, the bed of which as well as the banks is 
paved. It was, doubtless, judging from the remains, a 
splendid city, but the prophecy of Ezekiel (xxv. 5) has 
been literally fulfilled, as travellers have testified. Deut. 
iii. 11 ; Josh. xiii. 25 ; 2 Sam. xi. 1 ; xii. 26, 27, 29 ; 
xvii. 27 ; 1 Chron. xx. 1 ; Jer. xlix. 2, 3 ; Ezek. xxi. 20 ; 
Amos i. 14 are all the references. That Rabbah in Josh. 
xv. 60 was in Judah, and is not known. Lesson : The 
fulfillment of prophecy. 

RAMAH, ra'-mah, height. " There were several 
Ramahs whose sites are known. 1. Ramah of B, is 
about 4 m. N. of Jerusalem, represented rightly on the 
map, Josh, xviii. 25 ; Judges iv. 5. In Judges xlx. the 
place is described in connection with the crime of the 
Benjamites and the fearful consequences. Here Saul 
abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, i. e. his army 
lay around and between the two, while he in person oc- 
cupied the height of Ramah, 1 Sam. xxii. 6. It was a 
fine position for a fortress, as it commanded the highway 
to Jerusalem, hence 1 Kings xv. 17, and the effort of the 
king of Judah, verses 18-21, to prevent this rebuilding 
or fortifying, as "building" here means. Jer. xxxix. 5, 
6, 7, described the beginning of an event which terminated 
in captivity and mourning. In Ramah the prisoners were 
guarded while the temple and city of Jerusalem were 
being robbed and destroyed, and mourning was heard 
from the hill-top and " height" (Ramah). Jeremiah was. 
himself taken captive, xl. 1, 5. Then took place that 
prophecy uttered before, Jer. xxxi. 15, afterward re- 
peated and fulfilled when the infants were murdered by 
Herod. Ramah was rebuilt and occupied after the cap- 
10 * 



114 EEPHAIM. 

tivity, Ezra ii. 26 ; Neh. vii. 30. Lesson : — The hopeless 
sorrow of those to whom God grants no hope. 

2. KAMAH in A. Probably the site of the Eamah 
indicated upon the map ; 13 m. S. E. of Tyre is this Ea- 
mah of A. It is simply mentioned and that but once, 
Josh. xix. 29. Its position is sufficiently defined on the 
map. 

3. EAMAH of N. is found 25 m. S. S. E. from Tyre, 
surrounded by olive groves and overlooking a fertile 
plain. It has no ruins. It is only mentioned in Josh. 
xix. 36. 

4. EAMAH or EAMATHAIM ZOPHIM, ra'-math- 
a 7 -im zcZ-fim. This was the birth-place and home of 
the prophet Samuel, and has been thought to be at Soba, 
a little village on a height with ruins, exactly four and a 
half miles a little N. of W. of the Jaffa gate of Jerusa- 
lem. But there are nevertheless doubts as to this site, 
1 Sam. i. 19 ; ii. 11 ; vii. 17 ; viii. 4 ; xv. 34 ; xvi. 13 ; 
xix. 18, 19, 22, 23 ; xx. 1 ; xxv. 1 ; xxviii. 3. 

EAMOTH IN GILEAD, ra'-moth, heights, L. G. 
This city was 2 m. S. E. of Mt. Gilead, a principal city 
of the tribe of Gad and a city of refuge, Deut. iv. 43 ; 
Josh. xx. 8. Its spring, olives and vineyards and hills 
surrounding are all indicated on the map. It was a 
strong fortress, and, when taken by the king of Syria, it 
was regarded as a national loss ; hence the two kingdoms 
of Israel and Judah combined to retake it, 1 Kings xxii., 
but the king of Israel was mortally wounded in the bat- 
tle fought here, xxii. 34-37 ; 2 Kings ix. 14, 15 ; viii. 28. 

EEPHAIM, VALLEY OF, ref'-a-im, giants. This 
short valley is represented on the map, having its N. 



EIMMON. 115 

terminus about one mile S. W. of Jerusalem. In Josh, 
xv. 8 it is called the valley of the giants. Here the 
battles of David with the Philistines took place, 2 Sam. 
v. 18, 20, 22 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 13, 14. Other references are 
found in Josh. xv. 8 ; xviii. 16 ; 1 Chron. xi. 15 ; xiv. 9 ; 
Isa. xvii. 5. Lesson : — The most trifling events [as the 
moving in the tree-tops] may, hereafter, be found to have 
been influenced by God directly for great ends. The 
most minute ordinances of God are therefore to be strictly 
observed. 

1. RIMMOX, rim'-mon, pomegranate, S. This town 
was probably upon the site indicated on the map, 13 m. 
S. W. of Hebron. There are a few ruins of a village 
on this tell, which is located in the low country, and 
about one mile S. are two other tells covered with ruins, 
among which is a fine fountain or spring and a reservoir 
between them (see map). These sources of water at- 
tract the Bedouin for miles around. This seems to ex- 
plain the name in Josh. xix. 7 and 1 Chron. iv. 32, where 
the word A in means spring, and suggests that the town 
was at the spring indicated above. In Neh. xi. 29 the 
words En and Rirnmon seem combined and indicate the 
same place, and one which was occupied after the cap- 
tivity. So that Ain Rimmon, and En [the same as 
Ain] Rimmon were the same general place. 

2. RIMMON, THE ROCK RIMMON, B. This was 
a fortified position 8 miles N. N. E. from Jerusalem, 
singularly isolated by deep valleys around and rugged 
sides, a very fit place for such a refuge as the remnant of 
the tribe of B. made of it after the slaughter at Gibeah, 
Judges xx. 45, 47, 47 ; xxi. 13. Lesson : — Be not vio- 



116 SALT SEA. 

lent even in doing a right act, lest you cause the erring to 
cover their wickedness by your willfulness. 

SALEM, sa / -lem, peace. See Jerusalem. 

SALT, VALLEY OF. Here 18/000 Edomites were 
slain by King David, 2 Sam. viii. 13 ; 1 Chron. xviii, 12 ; 
2 Kings xiv. 7 ; 2 Chron. xx v. 11 ; Psalm lx., title. This 
valley is rightly shown upon the map south of the Dead 
Sea. There is by some supposed to be another site north 
of Palestine, but as the association of the place is with 
the Edomites, and as there are and have been from time 
immemorial vast quantities of salt in the valley above 
referred to, there can be little reasonable doubt of the 
identity of this place with the Scripture Valley of Salt. 

SALT SEA. Also called the Vale of Siddim (Sid'- 
dim), Gen. xiv. 3. When at first the sea was thus called 
it was doubtless of less size than at present. It is now 
45 miles in extent, varying with the rains, by about 9 in 
width. It is called the Sea of the Plain in Deut. iii. 
7. It is not only salt but acrid to the taste, and no living 
fish are found in it. Sometimes fish float in from the 
Jordan, but they always die. The writer has put fish of 
the Atlantic ocean into its waters, but they all died in a 
few minutes. The waters are sometimes crossed by 
birds in their flight, but few are ever seen to float upon 
the sea. This sea is supposed to have more than doubled 
its area after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 
and to have covered those cities, the sites of which, 
though lost, are with great reason supposed to be where 
indicated on the map, S. W. of the sea, near a ridge of 
solid salt 5 miles long, which yet bears the name of Mt. 



SAMAKIA. 117 

Sodom, or Jebel Usdum in the Arabic. Sometimes pieces 
of sulphurous bitumen are seen upon the waters, ap- 
parently disengaged from the bottom. On the south of the 
peninsula the bottom of the sea is quite level and forms 
what might have been the plain. The represented level 
may be seen on the S. E. corner of the map under the 
" Levels," and at the second or N. and S. profile of the 
Dead Sea. The whole country W. of and around the sea 
indicates that a most fearful volcanic eruption occurred 
many centuries ago, and the probabilities are, that before 
the destruction of these cities, the Jordan ran through 
this vale of Siddim, or Valley of Salt, and emptied into 
the Red Sea on the south. But at the destruction the 
whole country sank, and the place became a salt sea by 
receiving the washings from the salt mountains and hills 
around and by the sun distilling off the pure water and 
leaving the salt behind. Deepest part, 1317 feet. The 
mountains on the W. of the sea are exceedingly high 
and steep, as are those on the E., and they are cut into by 
ravines of great depth. The rivers are indicated on 
the map. Lesson : — The changeless element of punish- 
ment. It symbolizes, also, its perpetuity. 

SAMARIA, sa-ma'-re-a, watch height This was a 
city built by Omri, king of Israel, B. C. 925, upon a 
mountain of the same name, 30 miles N. of Jerusalem. 
It was the chief city of the kings of Israel and of the 
ten tribes, 1 Kings xvi. 23, 24. It continued the capital 
till the carrying away of the ten tribes by Shalmanezer, 
B. C. 720, 2 Kings xvii. 3, 5. During nearly the whole 
time of its occupation as the royal residence it was the 
scene of idolatry, notwithstanding it was constantly de- 



118 SAMAKIA. 

nounced by the prophets and incessantly in trouble from 
within and without, 1 Kings xvi. 32, 33 ; 2 Kings x. 18- 
28. It was also the scene of many acts of Elijah and 
Elisha, 1 Kings xiii. 32 ; xvi. 24, 28, 29, 32 ; xviii. 2 ; 
xx. 1, 10, 17, 34, 43; xxi., xxii; 2 Kings i., ii., iii., v., 
vi., vii., x., xiii., xiv., xv., xvii., xviii., xxi., xxiii. ; Luke 
xvii. 11 ; John iv. 4, 5, 7, 9 ; Acts i. 8 ; viii. 1, 5, 9, 14 ; 
ix. 31 ; xv. 3. 

The hill is now terraced roughly, probably the re- 
mains of ancient terraces held up by the olive and other 
trees still growing in large numbers upon the sides of the 
hill. The reputed tomb of John the Baptist is covered 
by the ruin of a church, itself not far off from a little 
filthy village bearing the name of Sebaste [Se-bas'-te] 
somewhat altered, as pronounced by the natives. Se- 
baste was the name Herod gave it in honor of Augustus, 
who gave it to him, the Latin epithet of whose name, 
translated in Greek, took that form. In the time of our 
Saviour Samaria was splendidly rebuilt by Herod. 
There are many remains and long colonnades of fallen 
and half-ruined columns. Lesson : — The long enduring 
struggles of God's mercy. 

SAMAEIA, DISTEICT OF. This lies between Gal- 
ilee on the N. and Judea on the S. The exact limits 
cannot be traced, but according to Josephus the boundary 
on the N. ran much as designated on the map, along the 
line of Mt. Carmel and so E. to about Succoth. The 
southern boundary corresponded very much with the 
southern lines of Ephraim, though this is not decided, 
and the line is given on the map for convenient memo- 
rizing, though it might also run from Joppa E. to Jordan 



SHAEON. 119 

through. Bethel. After the time of the Eoman rule the 
name disappeared. 

SAPHIE, saf'-ir, a city. This town, only mentioned 
once, Micah i. 11, is in the low country of J., about 30 
miles W. by S. from Jerusalem. All that is known is 
in the reference. It was probably a pleasant and beauti- 
ful town, but idolatrous. This might be gathered from 
the name and prophecy. 

SAEEPTA (also zarephath, zar'-e-fath), sa- 
rep'-ta, a place where metals are melted and tried. This 
was an ancient Phoenician town on the Mediterranean 
shore, and a port. It is probable that a refinery of 
metals anciently existed here, judging from the name 
and from intimations in the history of the coast. The 
Crusaders mention this town on the coast. The modern 
town, on the hill back of the ruins bearing the same 
name, is evidently not upon the ancient site. The 
writer was once forced to stay here some time, and in ex- 
amining the ruins discovered the remains of an ancient 
furnace and the slag still adhering to the sides of the 
furnace lining. There are also the signs of a spring of 
fresh water, and steps of marble descending to it. Here 
Elijah went to dwell and here he performed the miracle 
upon the cruse of oil, 1 Kings xvii. 9, 10 ; Obadiah xx. ; 
Luke iv. 26 the only passages in which it is mentioned. 
Lesson :— God is no respecter of persons, but measures 
all by their souls' worth only, and by their trust in him 
and fear of him. 

SHAEON, shar'-on, the plain. This plain extended 
on the coast from Mt. Carmel to Joppa and eastward 
several miles. It was the largest and most beautiful 



120 SHECHEM. 

pasture-land of Palestine. The slopes of Carmel come 
down upon it so gradually that, in many places, one may 
almost drive to the summit of the mountain-range. 
Here Shitrai the Sharonitefed the herds of King David, 
1 Chron. xxvii. 29 ; Isa. xxxv. 2 ; lxv. 10 indicates the 
excellence of the pastures. It was also celebrated for 
its beauty, Isa. xxxv. 2 and for its flowers, Song of Solo- 
mon ii. 1. It is called Saron in Acts ix. 35. Lesson : — 
Christ has a special claim upon the beautiful : it is only 
because Christ lives that the beauty of this world is not 
desolation. 

SHECHEM, she'-kem. A city of Samaria, built 
between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. It was also called 
Sy'-char. It was a very ancient town, and is first men- 
tioned Gen. xii. 6, wherein it is printed Sichem, but is 
precisely the same as Shechem. Here Abram tarried 
for a season and received the promise of the land to his 
seed, and here he built an altar. Jacob also remained 
for a time near this town, and his sons caused a difficulty 
with the men of Shechem, Gen. xxxiii. 18, 19 ; xxxiv. i. 
2, 20, 24, 26. It was made, after the conquest of the 
land, a city of refuge, Josh. xx. 7. It was the great 
gathering-place during the life of Joshua, from the fact, 
as it is supposed, that Joshua's residence and home be- 
ing at Timnath Serah, 15 m. S. W., this was the nearest 
town of any importance, Josh. xxiv. 1, 25. It was the 
capital of the kingdom set up by Abimelech in the time 
of the Judges, Judges ix., and afterward destroyed by 
him, Judges ix. 34-45. In was rebuilt soon after, for 
here the great meeting of the tribes took place at which 
the fate of the kingdom of Israel was settled under 



SHECHEM. 121 

Rehoboam, 1 Kings xii. 1. See also 1 Kings xii. 25, and 
compare with 2 Chron. x. 1 ; Jer. xli. 5 ; 1 Chron. vi. 67. 
First noticed Gen. xii. 6, wherein Sichem is the same in 
the original tongue. Sychar (John iv. 5) was a name 
originally given to the place, by the Jews, in contempt 
of the Samaritans to whom the town belonged. The 
word signifies " drunkard ;" see Isaiah xxviii. 1. This 
city belonged to Ephraim, and was 27 m. N. of Jeru- 
salem in a straight line. It has springs, and water from 
these springs flows through the streets, and the city 
being exactly on the height of the watershed, the 
streams divide within the city, part running E. to the 
Jordan and part W. to the Mediterranean. It is men- 
tioned 48 times. It is now the seat of all the Samari- 
tans still living, who annually worship on Mt. Gerizim. 
Lesson : — Beware of a bitter conscience, which is the 
child of an angry one. An unholy conscience may be 
conscientious in inviting itself and its company to eter- 
nal despair. Witness the Samaritans. 

Near to Shechem are two places of great interest — 
Jacob's well and Joseph's tomb. The author carefully 
measured the depth of Jacob's well and found it 86 feet 
from the ruined surface, and without water in December. 
It was therefore not a well of " living water ;" hence the 
allusion of our Saviour in John iv. 10, 11. Joseph's 
tomb is a small square building, Joshua xxiv. 32. There 
is a Moslem tradition that Joseph's body was removed to 
the cave of Machpelah at Hebron, but beyond this there 
is no authority for the tradition, Acts vii. 16. Lessons : — 
1. The exhibition of a Christian love is limited to no 
place, person or state. Christ while waiting, while 
11 



122 SHILOH. 

fatigued and hungry (notice that word " thus," John iv. 
6) and alone, speaks to this woman. Notice the results 
of such a spirit. 2. What precious turns may be given 
to things temporal toward things spiritual ; " this water," 
"this mountain," &c, used to turn attention to that 
living water, to that eternal mountain of God's holiness, 
from the Jerusalem here to that above, &c. 
SHILOAH, shy-lo'-ah, sent. Isa. viii. 6. See Si- 

LOAH. 

SHILOH, shy'-loh, apostle, E. This was a city in 
E,, which owed its importance chiefly to the fact that the 
ark of God remained here a long time, Josh, xviii. 1 ; 
1 Sam. iv. 3. It was the residence of Ahijah the prophet, 
1 Kings xi. 29 ; xii. 15 ; xiv. 2. It is frequently men- 
tioned as accursed and forsaken, Ps. lxxviii. 60; Jer. 
vii. 12, 14 ; xxvi. 6 ; and in Jer. xli. 5 is the last mention 
of it. It is on the highway from Jerusalem, 17 miles N. 
and in complete ruins. A little eastward is the fountain 
of Shiloh, represented correctly on the map, where the 
onset of the Benjamites upon the daughters of Shiloh 
took place, Judges xxi. Lessons : — 1. The events which 
occurred at Shiloh teach, that piety in the man does not 
excuse neglect in the parent. 2. No minister or teacher 
of righteousness has a right to be so engaged in God's 
work in the church as to omit God's work in his own 
family. 3. If the child will dishonor God, the parent 
has a right himself to escape the punishment which must 
pursue the obstinate child. 4. There will be revelations 
in the last day which may show that there never was a 
wicked child who could not, at one time, have been re- 
strained by a faithful parent, 1 Sam. iii. 13. 



SIDON. 123 

SHOCHOH, sho'-koh, defence, 1 Sam. xvii. 1. See 
Socoh. 

SHUNEM, shu'-nem, their sleep, I. This little vil- 
lage was celebrated for being ihe place before which the 
Philistines gathered in Saul's last battle, 1 Sam. xxviii. 
4. Here lived the rich Shunammite woman who pre- 
pared a prophet's chamber for Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 8-37 ; 
viii. 1-6. It is a little village, with no ruins, 3 J m. N. 
of Jezreel and 53 N. of Jerusalem. The first notice is 
in Josh. xix. 18. Lesson : — Be not unmindful that the 
blessings you obtain, even as rewards for good deeds, are 
of grace and not of independent right, and God, who 
gives, may take them when he pleases. 

SIDDIM, VALE OF, sid'-dim, the level field. The 
south end of what is now the Dead Sea was the former 
vale of " the level field," or Siddim. The slime-pits are 
now covered, but the bitumen has been often thrown up 
from it, some specimens of which the writer possesses. 
Here was the battle-field in which the king of Sodom 
and his allies (Gen. xiv. 3, 8, 10) were defeated by the 
confederate kings in the first great battle of Palestine. 
As from the remains of Pompeii we can testify to its de- 
pravity, so, if we could in a similar manner and degree 
examine the remains of Sodom, we might approve God's 
righteous judgment in regard to it and all the "cities of 
the plain,'' as it was doubtless on this plain, now sub- 
merged, that those cities were located. Lesson : — God's 
coming witnesses, now concealed, whereby he shall prove 
his righteous judgments, Jude 15. 

SIDON, or ZIDON, sy'-don, hunting or fishing. This 
was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, city of Phoenicia, 



124 SILOAH. 

situated upon the coast and partly built out into the sea. 
It was noted for its splendid advance in the arts and 
sciences and for the great skill of its workmen. It is 
called the first-born of Canaan, Gen. x. 15. Even after 
the defeat of Sidon (see Phoenicia) and the exaltation of 
Tyre, the former is spoken of as furnishing the fleets of 
the latter with seamen, and Hiram furnishes Zidonians 
as workmen for the temple of Solomon. It was an im- 
portant place during the Crusades, and the battles are 
indicated on the map. It is a walled city, yet poor and 
filthy. The most interesting Phoenician monuments and 
some fragments of the ancient language have been found 
here. The chief references are Gen. xlix. 13 ; Josh. xi. 
8 ; xix. 28 ; Judges i. 31 ; x. 6 ; xviii. 28 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 
6 ; 1 Kings xvii. 9 ; Isa. xxiii. 2 ; Jer. xxv. 22 ; Jer. 
xxvii. 3 ; xlvii. 4 ; Ezek. xxvii. 8 ; xxviii. 21 ; Joel iii. 
4 ; Matt. xi. 21 ; xv. 21 ; Mark iii. 8 ; vii. 24, 31 • Luke 
iv. 26 ; vi. 17 ; x. 13, 14 ; Acts xii. 20 ; xxvii. 3. Sidon 
is about 120 m. nearly due N. from Jerusalem. Men- 
tioned 32 times. Lesson : — My knowledge of any gos- 
pel truth which might have saved others and did not 
save me if I repent not, shall be a reason for my 
condemnation, Luke x. 13, 14. 

SILOAH or SILOAM, POOL OF, silo'-ah or sil- 
o'-ah, siiZ-o-am or sil-o / -am, sent We are indebted to 
Josephus for the location of this pool, which is marked 
No. 12 on Jerusalem of the main map, and on the cor- 
ner map, is about 100 yds. W. of the S. point of Ophel, 
connected by a dotted line with the fountain of the 
Virgin on the N. E. in the valley of Kedron. The 
dotted line is a tunnel, hewn out of the solid rock, con- 



SOCOH. 125 

necting the two and supplying the pool of Siloain from 
the fountain of the Virgin. The distance between them 
along the winding line of this passage is 1750 feet. The 
water of both fountains is the same, and therefore the 
pool of Siloam is rightly a pool and not a fountain. The 
reservoir of Siloam is of marble/and 53 feet in length 
and 18 wide. A flight of steps leads down to the bottom, 
and in the centre of the pool is the upright lower end of 
a Droken column. The pool is alluded to by this name 
only three times, Neh. iii. 15 ; John ix. 7, 11. The vil- 
lage of Siloam is opposite and on the sides of Olivet, 
and " the tower" which was " in Siloam," Luke xiii. 4, 
was probably a building which fell on some in that town 
where many of the dwellings, not made in the solid 
rock, seem almost ready at any time to fall. This pool 
is the same as that alluded to in Isaiah viii. 6 under the 
name Shiloah. Lesson : — There is no evidence of faith 
so trustworthy as obedience. 

SION, sy'-on, a name of Mt. Hermon in very early 
times. See Deut. iv. 48. 

SOCOH, so'-koh, tents, J. There were two towns of 
this name, and one in the upper and the other in the 
lower country of Judah. In 1 Kings iv. 10 the lower 
Socoh was probably referred to, because the plain was 
the most fertile and able to furnish provisions for Solo- 
mon's table. Joshua xv. 48 (the only passage) alludes 
to the other, " in the mountains," while xv. 35 alludes to 
that in the plain. See for the plain Socoh 1 Sam. xvii. 
1 ; 1 Kings iv. 10 ; 2 Chron. xi. 7 ; xxviii. 18. Shoco, 
Shochoh and Shocho are the same as Socoh. 

Socoh in the plain was 14 m. W. S. W., and that in 
11 * 



126 SODOM. 

the mountains 26 m. S. S. W. from Jerusalem. Les- 
son : — " The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong," Eccles. ix. 11. 

SODOM, sod / -om. There has been considerable pains 
taken to find out the meaning of this name, but without 
much success. It may mean " burning," and therefore 
indicate the bituminous material or slime found originally 
in that plain of Sodom ; and it may mean " cultivated 
fields" and allude to the fertility of the plain before 
destruction, "as of the garden of the Lord." However, 
Sodom was the chief city of the five, and, as indicated, 
(see Salt Sea) may have been on the plain at S. W. part 
of the sea near where is the mountain of that name (see 
map), Khashm Usdum meaning " Ridge of Sodom." 
The volcanic remains, the sulphur, bitumen and salt 
found in abundance, with other circumstances, go to sus- 
tain that scriptural account of the destruction of those 
cities — Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim — in 
this part of Palestine. The first allusion to Sodom is 
in Gen. x. 19, and other important references are in Gen. 
xiii. 10, 12, 13 ; xiv., xviii., xix. ; Deut. xxix., xxxii ; 
Isaiah i., in., xiii. ; Jer. xxiii., xlix., 1. ; Lamentations iv. 
6 ; Ezekiel xvi. ; Amos iv. 11 ; Zeph. ii. 9 ; Matt, x., xi. ; 
Mark vi. 11 ; Luke x., xvii. ; Romans ix. 29 ; 2 Peter ii. 
6 ; Jude 7 ; Revelation xi. 8. The remains of Sodom are 
supposed to be where the name is upon the map, though 
no certainty can be arrived at as to the location either of 
Sodom or Gomorrah, and none of the discoveries up 
to the present are satisfactory. Mentioned 49 times, with 
one spelling Sodoma, Rom. ix. 29. Lesson : — See Sid- 
dim, Yale of. 



SYKIA. 127 

SUCCOTH, sttk'-koth, booths. This place was ori- 
ginally only a stopping-place on the Jordan plain, pro- 
bably at or near the spot indicated on the map about 40 
m. N. N. E. from Jerusalem. Here Jacob, after meet- 
ing his -brother and turning back from the Jabbok to 
cross Jordan on his way to Shechem, ^stopped to pasture. 
The place is not identified, but the town on the. W. 
side indicates that probably on the E. side near that spot 
was the town Succoth. There are copious fountains 
near there and the pasture is fine, Gen. xxxiii. 17 ; 
Joshua xiii. 27 ; Judges viii. ; 1 Kings vii. 46 ; 2 Chron. 
iv. 17 ; Psalm lx. 6 ; cviii. 7. Lessons : — 1. Some even 
of God's people will never learn except they be taught 
with briers and thorns. 2. They shall have judgment 
without mercy, that have showed no mercy. 

SYCHAE, sy'-kar. See Shechem, John iv. 5. 

SYCHEM, sy'-kem. See Shechem, Acts vii. 16. 

SYEI A, syr'-e-a. Supposed to be derived from Tsur 
(tsoor), the name of Tyre, and meaning the land of Tyre. 
Some have supposed it signified " roses." Syria lay at 
the north of Palestine (see Palesttna), but in some cases 
the name was used indefinitely for all Palestine and the 
region N. to Aleppo. Syria, however, was subdivided 
into five principalities, of which Syria of Damascus was 
one, and the others beyond, northward. In the New 
Testament the use of the word was indefinite. It is 
doubtful whether it ever was defined with accuracy. In 
Matt. iv. 24, the allusion is to parts beyond and N. of 
Galilee and E. by Damascus, and also to the plain of 
Ccele Syria between the Lebanon ranges, where were fine 
and populous towns. In Luke ii. 2 the name is applied 



128 TABOE. 

to the province of which Cyrenius was governor, and 
which did not include Palestine. So also the sense is 
restricted in Acts xv. 23. The word alludes to the 
country on the north, and is therefore not a word pro- 
perly included in the geography of Palestine or the 
Holy Land. 

TAANACH, ta'-a-nak, who humbles thee, L M. It 
is at present a mean little village on the S. side of a hill 
with a summit of table land, on the S. W. border of the 
plain of Esdraelon, 48 miles N. of Jerusalem and 13 m. 
S. S. W. of Nazareth. It was a royal city of the Ca- 
naanites in the territory of I., but assigned to M., and is 
mentioned in the triumphal song of Deborah and Barak, 
Judges v. 19 ; Josh. xii. 21 ; xvii. 11 ; Judges i. 27 ; 1 
Kings iv. 12 ; 1 Chron. vii. 29. Lesson : — The helpless- 
ness of unbelief, for it was this only which allowed the 
Canaanites to possess this town in spite of the tribe which 
should have had it, Judges i. 27. 

TABOE, ta'-bor, choice. This mountain was on the 
confines of Z. and N., and on the N. E. part of the great 
plain of Esdraelon. It is circular and oval as seen from 
the N., but like a truncated cone as seen from the W. 
There are ruins upon its top of an ancient fortified town 
and of a church. The town existed before and since the 
time of our Saviour, and therefore the tradition that the 
transfiguration took place here has been set aside. The 
view from Tabor is the most beautiful and interesting of 
any, from a natural elevation, to be found in that or any 
other land. Allusions to the town of Tabor on the 
Mount are found in Josh. xix. 22 ; 1 Sam. x. 3 ; 1 Chron. 



THEBEZ. 129 

vi. 77. Allusions to the mountain itself in Judges iv. 6, 
12, 14 ; viii. 18 ; Ps. lxxxix. 12 ; Jer. xlvi. 18 ; Hosea v. 
1. Lesson : — From the last reference and Ps. lxxxix. 
12, we see how prone we are to pervert to our ends what 
God intended for his glory, and thus spread a snare for 
ourselves and others. This beautiful hill was probably 
once made, in part, an altar-site to pagan deities. 

TAPPUAH, tap'-ptjah, apple, J. This was a city 4 
m. W. N. W. of Hebron, on a ridge, Josh. xv. 53, called 
herein Beth-tappuah. It was a place only mentioned 
once, that city alluded to in Josh xii. 17 ; xv. 34, being 
in the low country and unknown, as was also that alluded 
to in Josh. xvi. 8, and in xvii. 8. 

TEKOA, te-ko'-a, the sound of the trumpet. This 
city was 5 miles S. of Bethlehem, on a hill broad at the 
top and commanding a fine view to the E., even to beyond 
the Dead Sea. It was sacked by the Turks in A. D. 
1138, and nothing further is heard of it till the 17th 
century, at which time it was desolate, as it has been ever 
since. There are four or five acres of ruins on the top 
of the hill. Tekoa was the residence of the "wise 
woman" who interceded for Absalom, and it was the 
birth-place of Amos the prophet, 2 Sam. xiv. 2, 4, 9 ; 
1 Chron. ii. 24 ; iv. 5 ; 2 Chron. xx. 20 ; Jer. vi. 1 ; Amos 
i. 1. Lesson : — Almost any reason becomes a good one 
for pleasing ourselves. 

THEBEZ, the / -bez, brightness. This city stands on 
the side of a hill at the N. end of a plain surrounded by 
rocky mountains. Olive groves are at present about it 
and signs of industry and prosperity. There are some 
large hewn stones, and some wells and cisterns, evidently 



130 TIBEEIAS. 

ancient remains. It was ten miles N. E. from Sheehem 
and 34 m. N. from Jerusalem. It is interesting as the 
place where the cruel Abimeleeh met his death by the 
hands of a woman, see Judges ix. 50 (where the phrase 
" all~to brake his skull " is equivalent to " altogether broke 
his skull" meaning that his skull was injured to such a 
degree that he was fatally wounded and could not re- 
cover. It should not be spelled " break," as it is not in 
the infinitive but in the imperfect tense, and thus it is cor- 
rected in the latest and best editions being printed as 
above), 2 Sam. xi. 21. Lessons : — 1. Though wickedness 
prosper a while, it will not always. 2. Betributive jus- 
tice : "As he had slain his brethren all upon one stone, he 
was slain with a stone." 

TIBEEIAS, ty-be'-ke-AS, named from Tiberius, the 
Roman Emperor, This city, on the Sea of Galilee, is 
mentioned but once in the Scriptures by this name, in 
John vi. 23. It was a town of considerable importance 
in the time of our Saviour, and derived its subsistence 
chiefly from the fisheries upon the lake on the W. coast 
of which it was situated. Here at the present day are 
shown many relics of the apostle Peter in a little chapel 
bearing his name. It is supposed that it occupies the 
site of the ancient Chinnereth or Cinneroth, from which 
the sea anciently took the name of Sea of Chinneroth. 
It is very highly probable that this supposition is cor- 
rect, although some objections are found against it. See 
Deut. iii. 17 ; Josh. xi. 2 ; xix. 35 ; 1 Kings xv. 20 for 
the city ; and for the sea, Numb, xxxiv. 11 ; Josh. xii. 3 ; 
xiii. 27. This sea is 12 m. 7 furlongs 484 feet long. The 
town is in lat. 32° 46' 14 /7 . It is associated as a city 



TIMNATH-SERAH. 1 31 

with the miraculous feeding of the multitude, which most 
probably took place on the hill nearest W. of the walls. 

TIMNAH, tim'-nah, an image, J. There is a de- 
serted village 15 miles almost due W. of Jerusalem 
which occupies the site of this town on the border of 
Judah, Josh. xv. 10. [It probably belonged to Dan, 
although on the border of J., and is the same as the Thim- 
nathah of Josh. xix. 43]. Gen. xxxviii. 12, 13, 14 ; 
Josh. xv. 10, 57 ; xix. 43 ; Judges xiv. 1, 2, 5 ; 2 Chron. 
xxviii. 18. Lesson: — Some professedly good men fear 
the loss of reputation more than the loss of God's favor, 
and thus they often lose both. 

TIMNATH-SERAH, or TIMNATH-HERES, tim'- 
nath-se'-rah, the portion remaining, tim'-nath-he 7 - 
res, portion of the sun. This was a portion remaining 
after the division of the land by Joshua, and given to 
Joshua. It was where he lived and spent the remaining 
days of his life, and where he died and was buried. The 
only references are Josh. xix. 50 ; xxiv. 30. It is 15 
miles N. N. W. of Jerusalem (see SHiLOHalso), and was 
not a very pleasant region, and nothing but the unambi- 
tious character of the great warrior and leader can ac- 
count for the choice of such a land, as, without doubt, he 
chose it himself. Perhaps it was called Timnath-Heres 
as a compliment to Joshua, who was as a " sun" and 
shield to Israel to guide and defend, but the other was 
the most used, as the name of "his inheritance.' ' Les- 
son : — The most certain means of insuring a peaceful, 
happy and contented old age, is found in the service of 
God in our earlier days. Such was the character of 
him who was happy at Timnath-Heres. 



132 TKACHONITIS. 

TIKZAH, ttr'-zah, pleasantness. This town was lo- 
cated on a fine elevation surrounded by immense olive 
groves and commanding a charming prospect. There 
are few ancient remains. It is five miles E. of the city 
of Samaria and 30 miles N. of Jerusalem. It was, for 
about 50 years, the capital and royal residence in the 
northern kingdom, or Israel, 1 Kings xv. 21, 33. It was 
an ancient royal city until conquered by Joshua (xii. 24). 
The town is of some size and tolerably well built, 1 
Kings xiv. 17 ; xvi. ; 2 Kings xv. 14, 16 ; Song of Solo- 
mon vi. 4. Lesson : — Tirzah illustrates this truth, that 
beauty, without God's grace and favor, may become the 
occasion of interminable sorrow and disappointment. 

TOPHET, to'-fet, or TOPHETH, to'-feth, a drum. 
See Hinnom. 2 Kings xxiii. 10 ; Isa. xxx. 33 ; Jer. vii. 
31 ; xix. 

TEACHONITIS, trak-ony'-tis, rugged. This was 
a tract of country on the N. E. of the Holy Land, and 
chiefly comprised that rocky and basaltic, or volcanic, 
country now called El Lejah (the Lejah) by the Bedouin 
(Bed'-win) inhabitants. It is about 30 m. S. E. of Mt. 
Hermon. The present little Arab town of Musmeih, 
the site of the Grecian Phseno, on the N. of the district, 
was the capital of Trachonitis. It is at present inhabit- 
ed by a race of robbers and outlaws, and they seem to 
welcome such characters from all around. In this re- 
spect they are probably characteristic of their progeni- 
tors in the time of Absalom, for when Absalom mur- 
dered his brother he fled to his mother's kindred, who 
dwelt in Geshur (Ge'-shur, a part of this Trachonitis), 
and remained there three years protected in the rocky 



TYKE. 133 

recesses of this rugged region, 2 Sam. xiii. 37, 38. Tra- 
chonitis is mentioned but once, and that in Luke iii. 1, 
but Geshur is mentioned in 2 Sam. iii. 3 ; xiii. 37, 38 ; 
xiv. 23, 32 ; xv. 8 ; 1 Chron. ii. 23 ; iii. 2. 

TYRE, tire, strength. This famous city of Phoenicia 
is 21 miles a little W. of S. from Sidon and about 120 
miles N. N. E. of Joppa. It was a daughter of Sidon, 
but after the defeat of Sidon by the king of Askelon (see 
Sidon), its inhabitants almost entirely removed to Tyre 
and built a double town, part on land and part on the 
island just off the shore. After the union of the two 
people, the original inhabitants, probably from motives 
of pride and rivalry only, laid claim to an antiquity 
for the city greater than that ascribed to Sidon. This 
place was made famous in Scripture as the " strong city 
Tyre," first mentioned in Josh. xix. 29, and next as the 
city of Hiram, who sent cedars, carpenters and masons to 
build " David a house," 2 Sam. v. 11 ; 1 Kings ix. 11. 
King Hiram was a fast friend of David, 1 Kings v. 1. 
There was another Hiram of Tyre, whom Solomon sent 
for, who had evidently become deeply skilled in the arts 
of the Tyrians, whose mother was a Jewess and father a 
native of Tyre. This man did much toward the orna- 
mentation of the Temple, 1 Kings vii. 13. Also see 2 
Sam. xxiv: 7 ; Ps. xlv. 12; lxxxiii. 7; lxxxvii. 4; Isaiah 
xxiii. ; Jer. xxv., xxvii., xlvii. ; Ezek. xxvi., xxvii., 
xxviii., xxix. ; Hosea ix. ; Joel iii. ; Amos i. ; Zech. ix. ; 
Matt. xi. 21, 22 ; Mark iii. 8 ; vii. 24, 31 ; Luke vi. 17 ; 
x. 13; Acts xii. 20; xxi. 3, 7. The present state of Tyre 
is one of fallen greatness. The writer once found many 
columns of beautiful and variegated marble which was 
12 



134 ZELZAH. 

foreign, lying under water far out from the city shore, 
and the capitals of some of which were carved with ex- 
quisite beauty not entirely destroyed by the action of the 
water. The fishermen literally cast their nets among 
these remains of ancient Tyre. Tyrus and Tyre are the 
same. Lesson : — The fulfillment of prophecy. 

ZEBULUN, the same as ZABULON, zaf/-tj-lon, 
dwelling. The patriarch Jacob foretold the position and 
chief characteristics of this people and tribe, Gen. xlix. 
13. By Zidon, Jacob means the country of Phoenicia which 
bore that name in his day. Moses corroborated what 
Jacob said, Deut. xxxiii. 18, 19. Zebulun's territory 
was one of the most fertile and of the richest in Pales- 
tine ; A. and N. bounded it on the north. It shared with 
A. the outgoings to the W. toward the sea of the Medi- 
terranean as well as the Sea of Galilee on the E., taking 
in a large portion of the rich plain of Esdraelon on the 
S. On the W. it was bounded by Asher. The tribe is 
alluded to Josh. xix. 10, 16, 27 ; Matt. iv. 13, 15. 

ZANOAH, za-no'-ah, the rest, J. A little village 10 
miles W. of Jerusalem on the slope of a low hill. Only 
mentioned in Josh. xv. 34 ; Neh. iii. 13 ; xi. 30. The 
inhabitants are noted only for helping in rebuilding the 
walls of Jerusalem after the captivity. There was 
another Zanoah (Josh. xv. 56) farther north, but not 
known in its location. 

ZAKEAH, za'-re-ah. Neh. xi. 29. See Zorah, 
which is the same place. 

ZAEEPHATH. See Sarepta. 

ZELZAH, zeiZ-zah, noontide. This little village, 



ZOAK. 135 

noted only as having Rachel's tomb in its vicinity, and 
mentioned only once, 1 Sam. x. 2, is to be found just 3 
miles S. W. of Jerusalem and not a mile due W. from 
Rachel's tomb. See Bethlehem. 

ZERED, VALLEY or BROOK OF, ze'-red. It 
runs into the S. E. corner of the Dead Sea. Its associa- 
tions may be fully found in Numb. xxi. 12 ; Deut. ii. 
13, 14. The Israelites crossed somewhat farther up than 
is represented on the map, or about where it touches the 
border, where the valley is not so steep as it is nearer the 
Dead Sea. Zared is the same word changed only in 
one letter. 

ZIDOK See Sidon. 

ZION. Another name for Jerusalem. See Jerusa- 
lem. 

ZIPH, ziff, mouthful, J. A little city about 3 miles 
S. E. from Hebron. There is a little hill of Ziph at this 
place about 100 feet high, and about ten minutes' walk E. 
of this, on a low ridge, there are the remains of some 
ancient settlement also called Ziph. The place gave its 
name to the wilderness near it (see map), Josh xv. 55 ; 
1 Sam. xxiii. 14, 15, 24 ; xxvi. 2 ; 2 Chron. xi. 8. Les- 
son : — See Saul with 3000 chosen men following poor 
David with his 600, and learn that a bad conscience will 
make cowards of us all. 

ZOAR, zo 7 -AR, little. This city, or village, as the name 
suggests, must have been near Sodom. Supposing Sodom 
to have been where we have located it, the ancient 
remains at the place Zoar, on " the tongue," Arabic El 
Lisan, in S. E. part of the Dead Sea, may indicate where 
that village was. It was known after our Saviour's time 



136 ZOEAH. 

and during the Crusades by that name. It is consider- 
ably higher than the level of the sea, for the writer saw the 
tongue of land from a position on the plains S. of Jericho 
at the head of the Dead Sea 27 miles off, showing 
that its height must be much greater than what was origi- 
nally the level of the vale of Siddim, if that vale was at 
the south end of the Dead Sea. Its position is indicated 
on the map on the E. side of the sea, 12 miles northward 
from its lowest or most southern limit. It was first 
called Bela, and the change of name occurred after the 
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen. xiii. 10 ; xiv. 
2, 8 ; xix. 22, 23, 30 ; Deut. xxxiv. 3 ; Isaiah xv. 5 ; Jer. 
xlviii. 34. Lessons : — 1. Earnest intercessions are some- 
times heard and granted, although, as in the case of Lot, 
they be somewhat selfish. 2. u Little ones are worthy 
of remembrance." 3. Some places have been spared 
from destruction only because they protected the right- 
eous. 

ZOEAH, zo'-rah, hornets' town, J. This place may 
be seen upon a spur of the mountains of Judah running 
into or toward the low country, one or two miles N. of 
Beth-shemesh and 13 m. W. from Jerusalem. It was in 
Judah, but inhabited by Danites, Josh. xix. 41. It is 
celebrated as the birth-place of Samson, Judges xiii. 2, 
25. See also xviii. 2, 8, 11 ; 2 Chron. xi. 10 ; Neh. xi. 
29. Also see Josh. xv. 33 ; Judges xvi. 31 ; xviii. 2, 8, 
11 ; 2 Chron. xi. 10. Lesson : — The strongest man on 
record was one who, from infancy, drank no wine or 
strong drink. Zoreah and Zareah are the same. 



A MAP OF 

PALESTI N E 

AND 

OTHER PARTS OF SYRIA. 

By COLEMAN & OSBORN. 
Size, 6 by 9 feet. Price $15. 



For many years a want has been seriously 
felt by those who are engaged and interested 
in the study of Bible Geography, for a large 
and perfectly reliable Map of Palestine. Per- 
haps no other authors of modern time have de- 
voted more careful attention and thorough re- 
search in the preparation of material for so 
important a publication, in order that it may 
be considered by every one the accepted and 
acknowledged standard in its department, than 
have Professor Osborn and Dr. Coleman in 
producing this large and elaborate work, which 



is pronounced by competent authorities to be 
the most magnificent and accurate map of the 
Holy Land that has ever been published in 
any age or country. It is attractive, authentic 
and practical ; adapted to the use of all Bibli- 
cal Students, either in private study or in 
public instruction, whether in the Lecture 
room, Sabbath-school, before private classes, 
or in Colleges and other Institutions of learn- 
ing. 

In the preparation of the new edition every 
known authority has been consulted, and revi- 
sion made wherever necessary, in order to 
render it the most valuable map ever prepared 
for the use of Lecturers and Teachers, whether 
before large audiences or small classes. The 
lettering on the map is clear and distinct. 
Every location recorded in the Bible, whose 
site is known by any discoveries up to the 
present time, is noted, and the size of the letter 
used in the name indicates the historical im- 
portance of the place. The boldest lettering 
can be distinctly read across a room capable of 
holding an audience of three thousand persons 

Upon the map are indicated the places al 



111. 



luded to by early historians, or noted in the 
times of the Crusades, as well as the import- 
ant missionary stations and other localities of 
interest in modern times. 

The Agricultural, Floral, Volcanic and 
Geological features of Palestine, the important 
ranges of mountains and hills, the rivers, lakes, 
reservoirs, wells and springs, together with lo- 
cations of battles, both of Bible and modern 
times, as well as the tombs, ruins, convents 
and the chief roads of travel are all included 
on the map. The coloring is done in such a 
manner as not to interfere with its distinctness ; 
indeed the entire execution of the map is in 
the most approved style of the art. It is neatly 
printed, and mounted on muslin with rollers 
and mouldings. 

The size of the map may seem an objection 
to some, but it can be arranged so as to ex- 
hibit in a room where the ceiling is low, in 
the following manner : Take the map en- 
tirely off the moulding and roller, tie a string 
to each end of the roller, and suspend it against 
the wall by two nails, one at each end. Then 
put the map over the roller which is against the 



IV. 



wall, and by passing a string through the holes 
made by the tacks in mounting, unite the two 
ends of the map, and then it can be drawn back 
and forth over the roller like an endless towel. 

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED IN THE 
PREPARATION OF THE MAP. 

The principle upon which the authors have 
proceeded with their work has been to admit 
nothing without authority, as they have had 
access to the highest sources of information 
in Europe and this country, added to their own 
personal examinations while sojourning in the 
land of Palestine. 

The names of the principal authors and 
travellers to whom they acknowledge indebted- 
ness for personal communication and informa- 
tion are as follows : 

Rev. W. M. Thomson, author of " The 
Land and the Book," to whom proof sheets of 
the map were submitted during the early part 
of its preparation, made some valuable sugges- 
tions. 

Rev. J. L. Porter, resident missionary for 
many years at Damascus. 



V. 



Dr. H. Keipert, the first Biblical Carto- 
grapher of Germany, presented a manuscript 
map to the authors, upon which was drawn all 
that he had gathered for years, and also added 
marginal notes of great value. 

The late Rev. Edward Robinson, Professor 
of Biblical Literature in the Union Theological 
Seminary of New York. 

Dr. J. G. Wetzstein, the Prussian Consul at 
Damascus, who has made some important dis- 
coveries in regard to locations. 

The river Jordan, in all its windings, its 
islands and principal rapids, as well as accurate 
outlines of the Dead Sea, are faithfully copied 
from information furnished by the Survey of 
the United States Exploring Expedition. 

In addition to the foregoing, the personal 
examinations of the authors while in the 
Holy Land have enabled them to arrive at 
decisions and vouch for accuracy, which noth- 
ing short of an actual survey of the land could 
furnish. 

Prof. Osborn has also reconstructed the 
whole coast-line after the late surveys of the 
British Admiralty, forwarded him through 



VI. 



the kindness of Dr. Jessup of the Syrian 
Mission. 

EXPLANA TIONS. 

In addition to what are given below the title 
on the map, it may be mentioned that where 
the exact site of a place is unknown, the mark 
of interrogation is placed before the name, 
thus : ? SODOM. The names printed in 
heavy black capitals, as JERUSALEM, are all, 
without exception, Biblical names, spelled 
as they are in the Scriptures. 

Those in outline capitals, slightly shaded, are 
classic names, while those in script type are 
the modern Arabic names. 

Generally the size of the letters will indicate 
the comparative importance of the place, es- 
pecially when the relative position is taken into 
consideration with the size of the name. 

All figures denoting dates and references are 
intended to point out the places of battles, 
slaughter, or sieges, and they refer to the time 
as recorded in history. 

Where dots are put around a convent or 
village, they indicate the existence of ruins. 



Vll. 

Where a castle is imperfect in outline it is 
demolished to the extent and on the side where 
such imperfection occurs. These are all the 
explanations that are deemed necessary in the 
introduction of the work. 

RE C OMMENDA TIONS. 

The following are a few of the commenda- 
tions received from those who have made the 
land of Palestine a subject of careful study : 

From Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, D. D. 

We have one of your admirable Maps of Palestine. 
I use it constantly in my lectures. It is the best large 
map I ever saw, and I wish every church and Sab- 
bath-school had one. 

From Rev. J. P. Thompson, D. D. 

I am glad to know that you are preparing a new 
edition of your admirable map of Syria and Pales- 
tine, with special reference to the wants of Sabbath- 
schools, By the boldness and clearness of its out- 
lines and divisions, the distinctness of its lettering, 
and the fullness and accuracy of its details, jour wall 
map is eminently adapted for instructing schools and 
large assemblies. I have used it with much satisfac- 
tion. 



Vlll. 

From Rev. Joseph Cummings, D. D. 

I have used for several years the large map of Syria 
and Palestine in the Weslej r an University, and I learn 
with great pleasure that it is proposed to issue an edi- 
tion for general use. I regard the map as a most 
valuable one, and heartily recommend it to all who 
desire a knowledge of the country it represents. 

From Rt. Rev. Wm. Bacon Stevens. 

I am convinced that in minuteness, accuracy and 
topographical detail it is the best work extant. I shall 
do what I can to commend it to Sunday-schools and 
Bible-classes, and should rejoice to see it adopted as 
the standard Biblical Map of the Holy Land. 

From Rev. J. P. Durbin, D. D. 

I have carefully examined the large Map of Pales- 
tine, and do heartily recommend it to all interested in 
studying the geography and topography, both ancient 
and modern, of the Holy Land. 

From Rev. Henry C. Fis/i, D. D. 

The map of Messrs. Osborn and Coleman is truly 
magnificent. That is just the word to describe it. 
Happy the Bible student — happy the Sunday-school 
possessing it. I am not only pleased, — I am delighted 
w r ith it in all respects whatever. 



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